Career Opportunities Soundtrack

If you're a lifetime member of the Jennifer Connelly fan club, you'll be in the passionate minority of people (100% male) who won't care that this 1991 comedy is wallowing in its own oily puddle of lameness. The gorgeous Ms. Connelly is conspicuously put on display in this typically lightweight fluff from writer-producer John Hughes. Frank Whaley does his best to liven up the male-fantasy plot about a semi-nerdy teen who gets a night-watchman job in a variety store, only to find himself locked in overnight with the local knockout (Connelly), who's as rich as she is beautiful. She's also really unhappy with her home life and her bully boyfriend (Dermot Mulroney), so it's Frank's big opportunity to make his move as a sympathetic Romeo. Shallow and contrived, the movie does have its standard moments of John Hughes delicacy, and a cameo by the late John Candy scores bonus points for comedy. Still, it's clear that the movie exists primarily to satisfy adolescent lust--and with Connelly as the object of desire, this otherwise tiresome comedy is a triumph of wish-fulfillment casting. --Jeff Shannon