After being fired from numerous low-paying jobs, Jim is given the choice by his father, Bud Dodge, to either land a job at the local or be put on a bus to St. I was just… slightly off. Jim, on the other hand, has convinced himself that he is doing exactly what he wants with his life, when the truth is he is just too scared and unambitious to even try to get out on his own. They might not be the stupidest robbers ever, but surely they're in the running. His father gets fed up and tells him that if he doesn't get another job then he'll kick him out of the house, which leads to Jim getting a job as an overnight janitor at a Target store.
Jim then sees Josey and has a minor accident. He added: I think if they made that movie today it would be kind of cool, but it just lacked a little bit of the irreverence of other movies written by John Hughes. She asks him to run away from home with her. The officer lets Jim know that he, the lone policeman in the town, is searching for Josie McClelland alongside of Josie's father. Frank Whaley stars as Jim Dodge, a smooth-talking small-town guy with a knack for putting up a front--but no talent for holding down a job. Director: Writer: Starring: , , , , , Producer: ». Later, to distract the robbers, she mounts the store's electric pony and proceeds to ride it.
Perhaps best of all, in this day and age of overly long movies, is the short run time of Career Opportunities. Jim Dodge's latest job is as a night janitor at a local store, where he spends his time blasting stereos and binging on junk food. It's a simple and quite wistful look at two young adults both stuck in unsatisfying situations. But the station owner feels Jim is full of crap and indicates the entire town feels the same way about him. It is a trend that continues to this day.
It never takes itself too seriously, and it has two likable characters to root for. Sadly, any real emotion in the movie is quickly gone by the third act when two robbers show up at the store. He is 21 and he still lives at home with his parents and his 24 year old sister who also still lives at home. Frank Whaley stars as Jim Dodge, a smooth-talking small-town guy with a knack for putting up a front--but no talent for holding down a job. He is so convincing a pretender that they give up their guns and lay on the floor.
Later on Jim meets his supervisor who abuses him verbally and a little bit physically, then indicates he will not be in the store during the night and will lock Jim in. The soundtrack was certainly classic John Hughes fare. I had never seen Career Opportunities before but I found it to be quite charming and amusing. It sort of wants to be a combination of Ferris Beuller and Home Alone with a bit of The Breakfast Club thrown in, but doesn't come close to equaling any of them. Jim's father secures him an interview at a Target store, but indicates if he does not get tie job he is going to his uncle's shop in Saint Louis.
Jim is hired as night cleanup boy at Target. The beginning of the movie, when it introduces Jim and he lands the job, is pretty bad. When Jim hears the car driving off he immediately gets the store shotgun that was locked in the cabinet, and pretending to be scared he uses the store announcement microphone to get the crooks to go to where he wants them. In the morning, the sheriff arrives and stumbles upon the two crooks, having been tied up by Jim. However, these crooks lie about the guns not being loaded and Jim gives them back their loaded guns. She lets him know she was expecting him to want sex, and was willing to go all the way. Josie McClellan, the rich girl who ignored Dodge in high school, has hidden in the store to get her father's attention.
Josey then reveals to Jim that she plans to steal the crooks car, which they stole from someone else earlier and tells Jim to go along with her. He says he tried to take his name off the film but Universal refused in the wake of the success of. The funny thing is she looked familiar to me but I couldn't quite place her until Rich told me her name. At a point when it looks like Josie will be murdered by one of the crooks, Jim jumps into action pretending he is talking to people on the outside, who have guns aimed at the two crooks. We then get a taste of Mr McClelland's relationship with his daughter as she pulls a little teasing stunt on two business men he is talking to by kissing one and shaking the other's hand and Mr McClelland later on threatens to beat the living tar out of her.
There's only one good reason to watch this otherwise poor comedy and that is to see a beautifully buxom Jennifer Connelly. This reflected the then new social phenomenon of young adults living with their parents well into adulthood. He is summarily fired for being lazy. Then we see Jim asking for a job from a gas station owner. We see a gruesome murder scene in Saltburg while Jim tells the dogs he knows that murder in Saltburg is the working of the mob in the Midwest. Josie and Jim begin to connect with each other, realizing they are not so different. She mentions going to Los Angeles which is a switch of destinations for her.
This is a comedy after all. Jim and Josie run away and we see them lounging next to a pool in Los Angeles. Jim talks to the Target Store Manager and through his charm Jim convinces the Manager to offer him much more money than he actually expected. Jim Dodge Whaley is known as the town liar. Meanwhile, Roger teams up with the town sheriff to search for his runaway daughter all night.
Jim's father confronts Jim and drags him home because he was fired again. The arrival of the robbers also brings up another major plot hole, which is that at the beginning of the movie Jim is told that he's locked in for the night but the robbers are able to come and go freely out a back door in the stockroom. She reveals she wanted to get caught shoplifting and get arrested to embarrass her father and leave home ,and therefore, she fell asleep and also is locked in the store. Jim comes into the store and pretends to be the owner for a minute and tells a clerk to fix a tile in the store. Career Opportunities which he wrote however, is not one of them. They are the only parts worth watching and the only memorable portions of the entire movie.