Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 31, 1990                   TAG: 9003310478
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CARVEY IS GOOD, BUT THE FILM IS A BIT WEAK

He's good, though the film as a whole is weak. It's a formula picture that's handsome and shallow. The acting is uniformly good. The Chicago locations, particularly Wrigley Field, have a freshly scrubbed, ritzy glossiness. But the script sounds like something that's been collecting dust in the bottom of a drawer for years.

Carvey plays Eddie Farrell, a small-time con man. He and his pal Lou get into trouble with a gangster (James Tolkan). Through a series of laborious coincidences, Eddie winds up hiding out in a swank bachelor pad and impersonating his absent host's college roommate. Milt (Robert Loggia) and Mona (Doris Belack), the host's wealthy parents, take an immediate shine to "Jonathan."

Milt tries to get him to come to work at his bathroom fixtures company, and Mona tries to set him up with her beautiful daughter, Annie (Julia Campbell). Meanwhile, Eddie's uncle Max (Milo O'Shea) is trying to figure out a con to separate the rich folks from some of their dough.

That cliched plot, from writers Mitchel Katlin and Nat Bernstein, provides a framework for a few funny bits from Carvey. Probably his best moment is an uncannily accurate imitation of President Bush; the second best is his version of "Born to Be Wild." They're not enough to sustain the predictable story that goes on about 10 minutes too long.

Director Donald Petrie ("Mystic Pizza") keeps the pace moving, but there's so little substance to the story and to the characters that his best efforts mean little. Except for the profanity and the literal bathroom humor, this film could have been made for TV.

Given better material, Carvey could be as popular on the big screen as his fellow SNL graduates Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy. Or he could crank out a string of formula flicks like Chevy Chase. It would be difficult and unfair to make any predictions based on "Opportunity Knocks." `Opportunity Knocks' A Universal release playing at the Valley View Mall 6, 362-8219, and Towers Theatre, 345-5519. Rated PG-13 for profanity and bathroom humor. An hour and 37 minutes long.