Career Opportunities (Film Review)

1991 Universal
Directed by: Bryan Gordon; Written by: John Hughes
Starring: Frank Whaley, Jennifer Connelly, and Dermot Mulroney
MPAA Rating: PG-13; Running Time: 83 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 5/10

At Jim's age, most people are entering their senior year of college. Jim, on the other hand, still lives with his parents, and has seemingly been fired from every job in his small town. His last shot is at the Target, where he is hired on as the overnight cleanup boy, but boy does his night not go as planned. First, the richest man in town's breathtakingly beautiful daughter, the same age as Jim, has stowed away in one of the store changing rooms. For some reason, the door to the store has been locked from the outside, and also for some reason as the two spend the night goofing off, the beautiful girl starts to romantically fall for certified loser, Jim. Everything is going as swimmingly as the Target's massive aquarium section, until a pair of goofy, yet violent thieves decide to rob the store.
1991's Career Opportunities is the poster film of mediocre movies. It's not terrible, but it is far from great. Like its protagonist, it just sort of exists. As Jim, Frank Whaley brings a uniquely off-putting energy, loud and constantly lying about his accomplishments. Whaley later took some blame for the movie's failure, essentially stating that he was quite different than a male lead in this type of film would generally be, but I don' think a lot of the blame should fall on his shoulders. His strangeness is definitely a rare element that sets this film apart. The store setting is unique and well-utilized, providing some welcome nostalgia for anyone missing the aesthetics of an early 90s superstore. Director, Bryan Gordon, seems to sense that something is missing, though, and tries to maximize his focus on the otherworldly beauty of his female lead, Jennifer Connelly. Connelly is featured in many striking shots, but her performance is also actually quite charming, as she's obviously maturing as an actress here and getting better at her craft. She has an interesting chemistry with Whaley, but the romance between them doesn't really connect. I don't quite think the film's mediocre nature falls on that either.
Famed writer, John Hughes, famously disowned his part in Career Opportunities, and his Midas touch is absent here, even as he stated this his influence on the film is minimal. Thus, without knowledge of studio interference, the blame for this film never transcending mediocre to "good" let alone "great," has to fall on director, Bryan Gordon. As he spent all those nights shooting this film in a real Target, a compelling narrative thread seems to have escaped him. Even when the goofy Mulroney brothers robbers burst into the film, the stakes feel barely raised, despite the fact that John Hughes laid out a blueprint to make them so, just the previous year in 1990's vastly superior Home Alone. There's just not a lot to care about here beyond Connelly's beauty and the aesthetics of the store. 35 years later, those are the only reasons to watch Career Opportunities.