Jimmy Buffett always just wanted to have a good time. The singer-songwriter crooned about alcohol and sex with confused aplomb; he has also been an advocate for marijuana for most of his life (although he quit smoking it in 2017). His devoted fans, known as Parrotheads, revered him as a champion of a free and fun life. He was carefree and rarely one to judge. Get out there, live your life, enjoy the ride, and when your journey gets a little rough, it’s always five o’clock somewhere.
I’ve always found Buffett’s music compositionally light and bland, but I understand the appeal of his philosophy. I can’t hate anyone for digging their vibe. Take Frank Marshall for example. If you were a Twitter user in the early 2010s, you may have noticed that the producer of “Paper Moon,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Poltergeist,” and the director of “Arachnophobia,” “Alive” and “Eight Below,” is a huge Parrothead. I found his devotion to Buffett, a fun-loving man, incredibly endearing and was not surprised to learn that the two had struck up a friendship. It also explains why the “Margaritaville” singer appeared in a few Marshall films in the 1990s. Was that really Jimmy Buffett as an airplane pilot in Marshall’s unapologetic film adaptation of Michael Crichton’s unintentionally silly sci-fi novel, “Congo?” Yes, it was, as you can see above.
Congo will make you believe that Jimmy Buffett knows how to fly (a plane)
Published in 1980, “Congo” was one of those potential projects that we heard about from time to time in Starlog or Variety. When Sean Connery was reviewing it, I decided to read the novel, thinking it must be an epic adventure. I wasn’t expecting the story of a corporate-funded expedition venturing into an African jungle with a talking gorilla to find a diamond mine. This didn’t strike me as a summer blockbuster.
After a few false starts, “Congo” was finally given the green light by Paramount under Marshall’s direction. The film is fun, mainly thanks to a pleasant screenplay by John Patrick Shanley (“Moonstruck,” “Joe Versus the Volcano”) and acting performances from a killer cast that includes Laura Linney, Ernie Hudson, Tim Curry, Joe Don Baker and an uncredited Delroy Lindo.
Of course, the only thing that matters to Parrotheads is the arrival of Jimmy Buffett in the cockpit of a 727. It’s an incredibly brief appearance, but it’s the man in all his hopefully sober (considering he’s piloting an airliner) glory. Despite receiving extremely negative reviews, “Congo” ended up grossing $152 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $50 million, which in my opinion is the best possible result for a film with such a crazy plot.
Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time Marshall used his friend in one of his films. Buffett also played a shoe-stealing pirate in Steven Spielberg’s “Hook” (which Marshall produced and also appeared in “Jurassic World.” The party ended for Buffett in 2023 when he succumbed to Merkel cell carcinoma, but millions of parrots toast him every day when happy hour rolls around.
