On the whole, "Career Opportunities" is disposable fluff; a half-assed John Hughes production from a guy whose heart clearly isn't in the work anymore. It's uncharacteristic of the man in that the characters are unrelatable, the hot-girl-falls-for-the-big-talking-loser storyline is contrived, and this thing just crawls ... and then ends abruptly. It's 80 minutes of jokes that just don't land, and it's no surprise that both Hughes and Jennifer Connelly have disowned the flick.
But both leads put forth the effort. Frank Whaley strives with what he's got, and Connelly adds playful sexuality to her dialogue. Everyone in the supporting cast knows they're here for a paycheck, but the stars at least make a go of it.
And John Candy shows up for a very pleasantly surprising cameo in the film's beginning. The problem there is that his scene finishes and we never see him again. Man, that guy is like a beam of sunshine in every movie he's in. He makes it look so easy.
But let's not beat around the bush here. The real reason this movie made any money at the box office (and is still talked about today) is the 20 year-old Jennifer Connelly. This doe-eyed specimen is unbelievably sexy, and we can all be thankful to the Internet gods for the horse-riding .gifs floating around in cyberspace. Just like the frozen-in-time Target filming location, this movie is a celluloid preservation of her pre-anorexic youthful attractiveness. Her beauty is nothing short of sublime in an otherwise forgetful piece of early-'90s "meh".
4/10
But both leads put forth the effort. Frank Whaley strives with what he's got, and Connelly adds playful sexuality to her dialogue. Everyone in the supporting cast knows they're here for a paycheck, but the stars at least make a go of it.
And John Candy shows up for a very pleasantly surprising cameo in the film's beginning. The problem there is that his scene finishes and we never see him again. Man, that guy is like a beam of sunshine in every movie he's in. He makes it look so easy.
But let's not beat around the bush here. The real reason this movie made any money at the box office (and is still talked about today) is the 20 year-old Jennifer Connelly. This doe-eyed specimen is unbelievably sexy, and we can all be thankful to the Internet gods for the horse-riding .gifs floating around in cyberspace. Just like the frozen-in-time Target filming location, this movie is a celluloid preservation of her pre-anorexic youthful attractiveness. Her beauty is nothing short of sublime in an otherwise forgetful piece of early-'90s "meh".
4/10