Career Opportunities (1991)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A persuasive but irresponsible young man finds himself alone with a wealthy, mistreated woman in a Target store after hours.
The story
Twenty-one-year-old Jim Dodge, a self-proclaimed "people person" and dreamer, is faced with a choice by his father: land a job at the local Target or move to St. Louis. Jim accepts the position as a night cleanup boy. On his first shift, he is left alone in the store by his boss until 7 am. During the night, he encounters Josie McClellan, a wealthy girl he has known his entire life. The two find themselves alone in the large store, beginning to connect and realize they have more in common than they initially thought.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Jim Dodge, a dreamer perceived as good-for-nothing, takes a job as a night janitor at a Target store to avoid moving to St. Louis. He is left alone in the store overnight and encounters Josie McClellan, a wealthy girl hiding from her abusive father. The two form a romantic connection while enjoying the freedom of the empty store. Josie, who has $52,000, convinces Jim to run away with her to Los Angeles. Their night is interrupted by two crooks, Nestor Pyle and Gil Kinney, who take them hostage. Josie seduces one crook and escapes with him, while Jim uses a shotgun to hold the other hostage. In the morning, the sheriff finds the crooks tied up by Jim, and the two lovers are seen together in Hollywood.
- First release year
- 1991
- Runtime (minutes)
- 83
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Bryan Gordon
- Writers
- John Hughes · writer
- Cast and characters
- Frank Whaley · Jim Dodge; Jennifer Connelly · Josie McClellan; Dermot Mulroney
- Genres
- romantic comedy
- Themes
- escapism; class differences
- Tone and mood
- romantic; quirky
- Premise and plot tags
- road movie; overnight adventure
- Reception
- The film received mostly negative reviews from critics and was considered a box office disappointment at the time of its release. John Hughes described the film as a 'disappointment' and 'cheap and vulgar.'
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 37% · review count: 19 critics; Metacritic · score: 41 · scale: 100 · review count: 14 reviews; CinemaScore · score: C+ · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Best Live Short · Academy Award · 1987 · win
- Production trivia
- The film was shot at a Target store outside Atlanta.; The film's working title was One Wild Night.; The Target store used for filming has since been repurposed as a church.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…