Laura Linney cites panned Congo as a ‘great bad film’
Actor Laura Linney, known for her work in Primal Fear and The Truman Show, has reflected on her work in the sci-fi, action-adventure film Congo, which was released in 1995. The film saw Linney in her fifth feature performance as electronics expert Karen Ross, appearing alongside fellow cast members Ernie Hudson, Tim Curry, Dylan Walsh, Bruce Campbell, Delroy Lindo, Grant Heslov, Joe Pantoliano, John Hawkes, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Joe Don Baker. Congo was directed by Frank Marshall, who worked from a script penned by John Patrick Shanley, based on the original Michael Crichton novel of the same name.
The film’s premise centres on an expedition team heading to the jungles of Congo in search of hidden diamonds located in the remains of an ancient civilisation. Accompanying them on the trip is a mountain gorilla called Amy, who communicates via sign language, which is then filtered into a digital voice. Congo did manage to gross $152 million against an initial $50 million budget; however, critics panned the film’s camp nature and cited it as goofy rather than of actual quality.
Additionally, Congo received seven nods at the 16th Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst New Star for Amy the Gorilla, Worst Director for Marshall, Worst Screenplay for Shanley, Worst Supporting Actor for Curry and Worst Picture. However, Marshall did earn a Saturn Award nomination for Best Director alongside a Best Sci-Fi Film nod.
Despite this immediate response, leading lady Linney recalls the film fondly.
“Congo’s one of the great bad movies of our time!. It’s a great one. It’s a delightmare. That’s what I call it…. I haven’t watched it in so long,” the star shared with The Independent. “I’ll go back to it when I’m really old and want to feel good about myself, and be like, ‘Oh God, I was young. I was sweet – look at that. And look at my arms!’ I’ll do that.”
Crichton’s novel was originally published in 1980 as his 15th piece of prose. A decade on came the Jurassic Park novel, which was adapted by Steven Spielberg into the 1993 work, which is considered one of the greatest ever made.
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