MovieChat Forums > Career Opportunities (1991) Discussion > Unlikable charmless bootleg Ferris Buell...

Unlikable charmless bootleg Ferris Bueller ripoff


It seemed like John Hughes wrote this at the same time, Frank Whaley was just like Bueller (Bueller?) in delivery, it just never landed. Not a single snide joke landed. Came off as a completely unlikable character.
This movie was so bad it probably is what kept Whaley in the permanent low B high C list for the rest of his career.

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What?? This movie is NOTHING like Ferris Bueler.

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I said the character, not the movie. Ferris Bueller is a character. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a movie.

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I guess everyone is entilted to their opinion, but I thought his charcter was quite likeable. And I've seen FBDO alot and not once did I view them as simliar.

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Well, the CHARACTER is nothing like Bueller either.

Religion: Because not everyone can grasp reality.

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Not?

The lead character aimlessly go through lives following only his instincts and does not care for authority figures and likes to talk a bunch about how he sees the world.

Sounds familiar?



Death to mainstream cinema!

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I get your point. This film is not funny in the least, and has no redeeming qualities other than Jennifer Connelly's extreme beauty. Just a terrible film, eventhough it came out in 1991, it was definately an "80s" film.

Frank Whaley became a character actor after this.

Who's High Pitch?

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Jim Dodge and Ferris Bueller both weren't likeable. Career Opportunities was the deeper movie.

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Jim was less not likeable though. Ferris was more of a dick, cos more arrogant

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Even if they are, although I didn't see it, but hey, I'm not all that perceptive, but I can read credits, its hardly a "ripoff", you do realize they were written by the SAME person?

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Buller wasn't likeable either.

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First of all you can't rip off your own character. But on to the reality, Jim Dodge is nothing at all like Ferris Bueller. Jim Dodge is in fact the opposite of Bueller, the anti-Bueller in fact. He can't get anything over on the adults in his life. He has no magic, no charm, he's not almost universally adored by his peers, only by some of the towns gullible younger kids. He is meant to be unlikable, as is Josie for the girls. But because the circumstances where he ends up with town hottie locked in with him they both get to realize the other is not entirely who they think they are or even who they think they are themselves. Yes, it lacks the charm Bueller did, it's meant to. If Hughes had wanted Jim Dodge to have the Bueller charm he would have written the character very differently. Instead he's a guy who's just starting, thanks to Josie, to understand how the outside views him and maybe get his feet on the ground to some extent, but it's a long road.

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I think Frank Whaley was apeing Matthew Brodericks performance more than anything

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I said the same thing to my wife, then she said he seems more like Jon Cryer to her, which I can totally see. It made me wonder if Hughes wrote this with one of them in mind as the lead.

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You're Nuts, OP this Movie Is Great.

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While FBDO is a good movie, Ferris himself was anything but likable. Sure, there were some admirable qualities about his character, but overall, he was nothing but a troublemaker who showed little regard for his friends' feelings. As for Whaley's character, he might have been a dork who thought highly of himself, but in the end he knew he wasn't "god-like" like Bueller thought of himself. (Bueller probably was, of course, but that just makes Whaley in this movie easier to sympathize with.) Anyway, this movie, to many, is only worth watching for the goddess that is Jennifer Connelly (and who can blame you?), but I think it's entertaining for what it is. Oh, and it's nothing like Ferris Bueller.


Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

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I found Ferris Bueller to be a completely unlikeable character as well, so go figure.



Never defend crap with 'It's just a movie'
http://www.youtube.com/user/BigGreenProds

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You A-Holes are saying the epitome of the likable character of all time ( Ferris) is unlikeable. Idiots.

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I have this movie and have watched it thousands of times.

For people who see this movie or the Jim Dodge Character as somehow a rip off of Ferris Buehler - think about this -

(Spoiler)

Watch the movie again if you think there is no particular reason they wind up in Hollywood, California.

and consider what Jim decides to do when Josey's life is on the line

He picks up a book and starts shouting into it as if he is shouting into a radio to other people. In doing so he convinces the crooks to lay down on the floor without their guns because he convinced them there were people with guns aimed at them.

Consider what Josey does when she says, "go along with me in whatever I do". She begins to convince one of the crooks that she is interested in him. She has one of the crooks so mesmerized with her pretend interest that she is able to steal their car and drive away.

Jim is called the Town Liar by people in the town but the people of the town do not recognize that he has a talent. Josey is called tease, but she has a talent. This ability to convince people of scenarios that are not really true, is a talent that has a name and it fits well with where the movie ends.

Most important, think about how all of this ties into the title of the movie
Career Opportunities which also fits with the talent these two show and where the movie ends.

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