Movie Journal: Opportunity Knocks

Dana Carvey is, as you’d expect, the primary reason to watch Opportunity Knocks. The movie, released in 1990 (which was actually around the time his popularity on SNL was beginning to wane) casts Carvey as a con-man who goes around pulling small time jobs to keep him and his partner out of debt to a mobster. On the run from that mobster Carvey’s character winds up getting involved in a much bigger con by taking on the identity of an in-demand businessman, a situation that results in him falling in love and eventually forsaking his lay-about lifestyle.

It’s not a great movie – sometimes it can be downright painful to watch and it’s not aged well in the 19 years since its release – but it is funny more often than not and Carvey is quite charming in the role. It’s essentially an outlet for him to pull out a handful of impressions and voices, but that’s exactly what the audience was asking from him at that point. When the humor drops, though, Carvey seems oddly capable of expressing some genuine emotions.

Like many of the movies I’ve been watching lately, Opportunity Knocks is available on Hulu right now so if you’re one of those that saw it when it came out and want to revisit it, now’s your chance.

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