Target After Dark

Career Opportunities is every boy’s dream. Being trapped in a building with the hottest girl in school. I knew nothing about Career Opportunities, but I was drawn to it when I kept seeing the clip of Jennifer Connelly riding a coin-operated pony. Turns out marketing used the same clip in order to attract young males. I knew it had to be a John Hughes movie, but apparently he wanted his name removed from it. Career Opportunities is like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets Home Alone. Frank Whaley is the far less charismatic Jim Dodge known as the “town liar.” The problem is Jim won’t shut up and can’t hold onto a job.

I can relate to him living at home, but there’s not a whole lot of nuance. He’s a 20 something living with his father, mother, younger brother, and grown up sister. I’m not sure if it’s good product placement, but a majority of the film takes place inside Target®. John Candy makes an uncredited appearance as the store manager who gives Jim a crappy night custodian job. Like Home Alone, Jim seizes the opportunity to goof off, eat whatever he wants, and skate around the store in his underwear. It just so happens, beautiful rich girl Josie McClellan is also trapped there over night. Josie is salacious, but she desperately wants to get away from her controlling father.

Although they’re complete opposites, Josie still ends up wanting to run away with Jim by the end. Josie’s father tries to find his daughter with the town sheriff, but there’s no reason to keep cutting back to Jim’s father eating all night. Since Home Alone literally came out the previous year, Hughes throws in an unnecessary criminal element. Dermot and Kieran Mulroney are a little too serious for this movie. Jim and Josie use their respective skills to outsmart the crooks and get everything they wanted. Career Opportunities doesn’t quite hit the target.

Josie rides a horse