By Melissa Antoinette Garza
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS is a guilty pleasure of mine. It’s not a great movie. I fully admit it is not a masterpiece. It’s silly, formulaic and even cringeworthy at times, but it has its charm.
When I was 10 years old, I really liked Dana Carvey. It was a different time. SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1975) was amusing (at least more-so than it is now) and the WAYNE’S WORLD sketches were stupid fun. Even now, the chopping broccoli sketch makes me laugh.
In all honesty, I still do have a soft spot for Carvey, and OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS is one of the best examples of his talent. He plays the romantic lead Eddie (Dana Carvey), who cons his way thru life, and ends up being mistaken for a rich playboy named Johnathon.
The real Johnathon is a broker who is friends with Mona (Doris Belack) and Milt’s (Robert Loggia) son David (Bill Bradshaw). Johnathon was supposed to be coming to stay in their lavish home, but he cancels, unbeknownst to the older couple.
Meanwhile, Eddie and his friend Lou (Todd Graff) are on the run from a Sal (James tolkan), a mobster who is angry because the criminal duo stole his car. Eddie goes to the huge house because he knew it was empty. When Mona shows up and catches him in her house, she mistakes him for John and Eddie goes along with it.
Milt, impressed with Johnathon’s credentials coaxes Eddie to join his firm. He proves himself an unorthodox success and all is going well. Eddie’s game is to steal some cash and make an escape. He romances Milt’s daughter Annie (Julia Campbell), but he soon falls head-over-heels and wants out of the con. Things prove difficult as both Sal and the truth begin to close in.
First and foremost, remember those cringeworthy moments that I told you about? There is a few scenes with ethnic stereotypical impressions that would never fly today. Some may be thoroughly offended by it and I get it. I don’t find it’s funny, but I’m not angry over it. It wasn’t meant to cause outrage, but in today’s climate, it surely would. As a kid, I just looked at it as Dana doing funny voices. As an adult, it’s embarrassing and hard to watch.
Beyond that, Carvey’s other impressions in this are successful and do work with the tone. His Mick Jagger is always entertaining and though his George Bush is obviously a dated reference, I still enjoy it. He does a really great job playing the lovable loser that you can’t help but root for. When Eddie starts to feel guilty about his actions, the audience is on his side. The viewers can’t help, but hope for the conflicts to be resolved in his favor.
The entire cast does well. Veteran actor, Robert Loggia has been in countless great movies and his performances always resonate. Here is no different. Milt is just a nice guy who wants to make his company the best in the world. He loves his family, is ambitious and kind. His only detriment is that he’s too trusting.
The same can be said for Mona. Mona is such a lovely person and Doris Belack never let’s you forget how gracious she is. It is a near automatic reaction to hate the wealthy and elite in film; but Belack portrayed her character completely void of pretentiousness and narcissism. She’s just a likable woman who happens to be rich.
Likewise, Julia Campbell shows such a down-to-earth and sweet temperament to Annie that the clout of her family never gets in the way of cheering for her happiness.
Todd Graff, James Tolkan, Sally Gracie and Milo O’Shea make up the rest of the primary players, and they all add something that benefits the production. Their quirkiness, antics and outlandish behavior keeps the film moving nicely.
For all its flaws and there are many, OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS is a fine watch. It’s a predictable feel-good movie that works like a nostalgic comfort food.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6/10
