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Such a frustrating disappointment

There are women in the film, but none has anything you could call a personality.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

***SPOILERS*** The very sight of the drop dead gorgeous and ultra sexy 20 year old Jennefer Connelly, as spoiled little rich girl Josie McClellan, riding and rolling on a electronic pony was more then worth the price of admission then the duration of the entire movie. Josie gets herself locked up in the Target's ladies dressing room trying to shoplift a $20.00 pair of ladies underpants even though she had as much as $52,000.00 of cash on her to pay for it and ends up having the run of the place. That's until two crooks Nester & Gil, Demont & Kieran Mulroney who are obviously brothers, show up-after hiding and smoking pot in the store men's room- to rip the place off.The good for nothing $4.40 cent an hour night clean-up boy Jim Dodge, Frank Whaley, on his first day or night on the job ends up getting stuck-lucky guy-with Josie for the entire night that's a lot more then he ever bargained for. And in the end goes off with her to sunny California to start a new life as well as career opportunity in the up and coming multi-billion dollar industry of Silicon Valley. The fact that Josie comes from the richest family in the state of Georgia is nothing compared in what she got from hooking up with the cute clean-up boy Frank who showed her just what a good time, in running for her life and safety from the two Mulroney brothers as well as the local police, rally is.Jenniffer Connelly who just was seen in the movie "The Racketeer" who soon rocketed to the top as the hottest actress in Hollywood in this so-so movie about America's youth. As for actor Frank Whaley with the exception of playing accused but not proved JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in movies like "JFK" & "Fatal Deception Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald" he never had a part in a film as good or satisfying with a co-star as Connelly as the lowly Target night time clean-up boy Jim Dodge in "Career Opportunities".

As the movie started, I reeled back. Could this be it? The right disk in that box? What the hell, this photograph of a bloody corpse? I knew nothing about this movie, there was some research on THE HOT SPOT's Jennifer Connely after INVENTING THE ABBOTTS's trailer on the Internet ruled it out as a good choice (though I did obtain it after all, but that's another story, see the review) and on Wikipedia I saw this one listed but all I could find on it was dodgy slow motion snippets which (ahem) conclusively proved that some guys were ga-ga about Jennifer way-back-then SO this is the stuff I collect, so, cut to the chase, I thought she was some kinda shopgirl new at the job (the "career opportunity") in romantic comedy and here it starts off all murderous.And then, this Frank Whaley dude. Who instantly reminds you of the kind of dorky, dorky guys in 80's music videos, the kind that carried a tune but looked like a dog's breakfast... Arrgh. And I was sitting there viewing this and really feeling like I usually do on movie afternoon Sundays, no surprise! My pursuit of the pretty girls on film landed me with another bummer! And this bummer is a big, big stinker. Comes the drag roller-skating scene. He thinks he's imagining her maybe as she stands there while he is making a fool of himself. I can SO relate to that. From there on, the movie gets a green light from me.It is a must for Jennifer Connelly fans. Umpteen years ago I saw her in THE HOT SPOT with that shiny long, long hair and wearing those flowery summer sandals and I have fond memories of that. I did see THE ROCKETEER for no other reason than JC, but my memory of that one is next-to-zilch. She was the older girl in recently-watched INVENTING THE ABBOTTS but completely outclassed my old flame Liv STEALING BEAUTY Tyler, so I got me this title to further my appreciation. And while the movie won't be in the vast majority's taste, no prize for guessing that, it's one of the best Opportunities to watch a young Jennifer early on in her Career. Very, very Brooke Shields, by the way.Basic premise, gentle loser-boy fantasy stuff. What if She (my dream girl) was here now while I was going through my usual boring old routine. After what was initially experienced as a bad start, I now find that Jim bloke quite like a buddy. But movie does take half an hour to warm up. That's not good.

"Jim Dodge" (Frank Whaley) is an unambitious but very creative young man who can't seem to hold a job because he prefers to live in a fantasy world. Even though he is 21 years-old he still lives with his parents and doesn't really care to move out. One day his father, "Bud Dodge" (John M. Jackson) forces him to get a job at a nearby Target store as the "night cleanup boy". When he reports for his first shift the head custodian locks him in the store and Jim finds himself all alone with a huge area to clean. At least he thinks he's all alone. Meanwhile, a beautiful young woman by the name of "Josie McClellan" (Jennifer Connelly) is having problems with her rich and physically abusive father, "Roger Roy McClellan" (Noble Willingham) so she decides to venture to Target with the intent to embarrass him by getting arrested for shop-lifting. As luck would have it, she falls asleep in the clothing department and wakes up to find Jim skating through the aisles in his underwear. But that's just the beginning of the adventure for both of them. Anyway, rather than disclose what happens next and possibly spoil the picture for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a nice little comedy with a definite 80's flavor. While Frank Whaley was amusing, the main attraction was clearly Jennifer Connelly as she was simply gorgeous. On the other hand, the conversation between the two of them sometimes seemed awkward and forced. Likewise, because this film is so light and breezy there isn't much depth to it at all. All things considered then, I rate this movie as average.

Frank Whaley and a few other overlooked ones the Hughes-package (aka Brat Pack) land roles here with emerging stars the Mulroney Bros. The film has the classic Hughes devices of the solitary character posed before a background of merchandise or amusing themselves with objects that are actually merchandise of functional objects. Whatever happened to Leggs and dancing in the CD aisles? The music is reflective of the transitioning period of the late 1980's and early 1990's where hard rock, "synth pop" and alternative rock were duking it out on the charts. If you're lost on the placement of the story--in typical Hughes (R.I.P.) Midwest territories, or the aesthetics, the subtle and smooth-flowing moral lessons are easily missed (am I the only one who sees similar casting among the many leading young women in the Hughes films--Moore, Connelly, Sara?). Generally, Hughes films are about revealing the common ties among individuals who live in distinctly different social and economic strata where conflict resolves into a solidarity.I find it interesting that I watched this AFTER watching a modern "living as a boy, who is old enough to live like a man" film titled, "Failure To Launch," an attempt to close the chapter on the pandemic of young "adults" returning to the nest, while this film seemed to signal the start of the pandemic. A few unique cases here or there, then by the mid-1990's, we saw the 30-year old "men" trailing behind their mothers to grocery stores or other chores. My other perspective on the content of this film.