Career Opportunities

Career Opportunities is a 1991 American romantic comedy film starring Frank Whaley in his first lead role and co-starring Jennifer Connelly. It was written and co-produced by John Hughes and directed by Bryan Gordon. In the film, Whaley plays Jim Dodge, a persuasive but irresponsible young man who lands a job as an overnight janitor at a local Target store. One evening after hours, he finds himself alone with the affluent but mistreated Josie McClellan (Connelly). Hughes chose Gordon to direct his screenplay after he was impressed with one of Gordon's short films. The film was shot at a Target store located outside Atlanta. The film grossed $11 million at the box office, and received mostly negative reviews from critics. Hughes distanced himself from the film. Plot Twenty-one-year-old Jim Dodge is a self-proclaimed "people person" and dreamer, perceived as lazy and good-for-nothing. 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 Target or be sent to St. Louis to work for his uncle. Jim is hired as a night cleanup boy at Target. On his first shift at his new job, Jim is locked alone in the store by his boss, the head custodian, who leaves him there until his shift ends at 7 am. He encounters beautiful Josie McClellan, a stereotypical "spoiled rich girl" whom he has known all his life. Josie had spent the past several hours asleep in a dressing room after backing out of shoplifting some merchandise in a half-hearted attempt to run away from her abusive father, Roger Roy McClellan.