Career Opportunities [DVD]

Career Opportunities is a 1991 coming-of-age romantic comedy. It was written by prolific 80s writer and director John Hughes and directed by Bryan Gordon in his first major directing role. The film starred Frank Whaley, Jennifer Connelly, Dermot Mulroney, and Kieran Mulroney in the leading roles. The supporting cast included John M Jackson, Jenny O'Hara, Noble Willingham, Barry Corbin, William Forsythe, and John Candy (in an uncredited cameo role). The movie was filmed in 1989, but because of post-production issues and reshoots, it was not released until 1991.In the film, Whaley plays Jim Dodge, a 21-year-old slacker with little to no ambition and a reputation as the "town liar" in his small Illinois town. His only friends are a group of pre-teen kids who are the only ones who believe his lies about how wonderful his life is. In reality, Jim gets fired from every job he manages to get, and is content to live at home forever. His father gives him an ultimatum to get (and keep) the job he lined up at the local Target as a night janitor, or he will ship him off to St. Louis to work as a gardener. Connelly plays Josie McClellan, the daughter of the town's rich real-estate developer. She has the reputation of a spoiled rich girl and a tease, but the film reveals her life is not as idyllic as it seems. During Jim's first shift, he is locked in the store (seemingly alone) but discovers that Josie is locked in with him and the two bond until they are taken hostage by two criminals (played by Dermot and Kieran Mulroney) who are on a crime spree throughout the state.The 4k set is a two-disc set released by Kino Lorber containing a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc. The A/V quality is outstanding, and the film looks and sounds wonderful in the UHD format. It is a considerable upgrade over the DVD release. The film has two commentary tracks (both recorded around 2023). One of the commentary tracks is by director Bryan Gordon, and the other is by the Chicago Critics' Film Festival producer, Erik Childress. Both tracks are good and provide a lot of information about the film. Gordon's commentary talks about the production, things he liked and did not like about the movie, and things he would have done differently if he made the film now. Childress' track focuses much more on the overall story, and the lost potential for the film to delve into Josie's storyline more. The other bonus content, available on the regular blu-ray disc, includes an interview with Dermot and Kieran Mulroney where they discuss how they got into acting and their work on the film (that runs about 15 minutes), an interview with the director of photography (that runs about 11 minutes), and the trailer (along with trailers for Uncle Buck, The Hot Spot, and Some Girls).The movie is good, but uneven. It has a mix of comedy and drama (which gets a bit dark at one point). The film is well-acted (all the actors did a good job with their characters), but the writing is uneven. There are definitely some funny moments in the film and some good dramatic moments, but it feels disjointed (probably because of the reshoots that were required). I don't think it is the best of the coming-of-age films of the 1980s and early 90s, and it does take some suspension of disbelief to buy into the events of the movie. Even so, as long as you do not try to overanalyze it, it is an enjoyable film that is worth watching.

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(3.5 stars for the film, 4 stars for the blu-ray)"Career Opportunities" was released in 1991 to mostly negative reviews with an underperfoming box office take of only $11.3 million. It was written and co-produced by John Hughes while Bryan Gordon handled directing duties. The film co-starred Frank Whaley and Jennifer Connelly who was only 19 years old when this film was made. William Forsythe is also part of the cast. The basic plot involves Jim Dodge (Whaley) who works at a Target store who gets locked in overnight in the store by his boss. He quickly finds out that the local rich girl Josie McClellan (Connelly) is also locked in the store with him as well. Sparks eventually fly and eventually a couple of thieves break into the store which leads to more comedic hijinks.I was only 16 years old when "Career Opportunities" was released to theaters back in 1991. (Production on the film actually began in November 1989.) The poster art, which placed a strong emphasis on Jennifer Connelly's impressive cleavage, was a major selling point. Needless to say that she looks positively amazing & sexy throughout while also delivering a good performance. The most famous scene involves her riding a coin operated horse while wearing an extremely tight white tank top which really made an impression on me and many others. She just exhudes a playful sexuality that her character uses to distract the thieves who eventually break into the store. Frank Whaley turns in an enjoyable performance and the rest of the small cast acquit themselves nicely. The movie while entirely predictable is quite a nostalgic piece of cinema for me and many others. Its runtime is only a brisk 83 minutes so it does not overstay its welcome at all. "Career Opportunities" is a fun bit of early 90's romantic comedy that still manages to entertain 30 years later.Kino Lorber under their Studio Classics line gives the film its long overdue blu-ray release. The film is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio utilizing the AVC codec at a beefy bit rate usually staying in the mid to upper 30's. Nothing on the back of the case indicates this being a new transfer so it is apparently an existing master that Univeral provided to Kino Lorber. Overall the film looks good. Detail is solid though it appears that some digital noise reduction was applied throughout though things never appear too smooth or complexions too waxy. Colors along with contrast & black levels look accurate. While a new 2K scan from either the original camera negative or interpositive would have really allowed the movie to truly pop, for an older HD master, "Career Opportunities" looks good on blu-ray and a decent step up from the ancient DVD. Fans should be pleased.Sound is presented in English DTS-HD master audio 2.0 channel audio sounding clear and well balanced. English subtitles in white font are included for the hearing impaired.Extras are as follows:- Audio Commentary by Chicago Critics Film Festival Producer Erik Childress- Theatrical TrailerThe commentary track is excellent and packed full of tons of great information about the film as well a critical analysis of the themes and plot itself. Well worth a listen for fans. While some cast interviews would have been nice, I continue to like how Kino Lorber will include commentary tracks whenever possible instead of releasing bare bones blu-rays."Career Opportunities" is finally on blu-ray thanks to the fine people at Kino Lorber. The film looks and sounds good overall and the included commentary track is well worth a listen. Fans of Jennifer Connelly should pick up this disc immediately. She looks absolutely stunning throughout. The film itself is fun and a nice piece of early nineties nostalgia.