Career Opportunities

Directed by Bryan Gordon, Career Opportunities follows Frank Whaley’s Jim Dodge as he and Jennifer Connelly’s Josie McClellan find themselves falling for one another over the course of one long night. There’s ultimately little doubt that Career Opportunities improves considerably as it progresses, as the movie, written by John Hughes, has been saddled with a somewhat meandering opening stretch that contains few wholeheartedly compelling attributes – with the less-than-enthralling atmosphere exacerbated by the rather grating bent of Whaley’s turn as the aggressively oddball central character. (It’s worth noting, though, that even in its far-from-spellbinding stretches, Career Opportunities benefits from Gordon’s solid visuals, Hughes’ typically sterling dialogue, and a fun cameo appearance by John Candy.) There’s little doubt, then, that the picture’s transformation into a compelling piece of work is triggered by a growing emphasis on Jim and Josie’s appealing banter and chemistry, as the characters are slowly-but-surely developed into compelling, sympathetic figures that are far more interesting (and layered) than one might’ve initially anticipated – which, when coupled with a thoroughly satisfying closing stretch, confirms Career Opportunities‘ place as a completely watchable endeavor from screenwriter Hughes. (And even if it is lesser Hughes, lesser Hughes is still better than most other similarly-themed fare.)

*** out of ****