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"A signature trope of the Good Bad Movie is the bland white guy who is ostensibly the star but has been completely blotted out by the miasma engulfing his surroundings. Think Thomas Jane in Deep Blue Sea, or Freddie Prinze Jr. in She’s All That. In the case of Congo — a gloriously stupid Michael Crichton adaptation that trivializes civil war, animal rights, and the search for King Solomon’s mines — that guy is Dylan Walsh. Surrounding Walsh, and obviating his entire existence, is a ludicrously talented cast devouring a ham sandwich of a script artisanally crafted by Oscar-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley. Laura Linney tightens her ponytail as heiress-archaeologist Dr. Karen Ross, Ernie Hudson chomps his way through 10,000 cigars as Captain Munro Kelly, and Tim Curry does career-best/worst work as mythology-hunting explorer Herkermer Homolka. These folks quest to the titular African region with Walsh and Amy, a gorilla with advanced learning that allows her to communicate via a sign-language-assisted speaking computer. Seriously." |
