In May 2021, TikTok user @jbuckstudios posted a new video about two popular movies from the past. It claimed that the outfits worn by "Jurassic Park" character Dennis Nedry were "subtle references" to clothing from "The Goonies."
If this could be confirmed to be true, it would be quite the cool callback for fans of the films.
Dennis Nedry
Nedry, who was portrayed by "Seinfeld" actor Wayne Knight, was the tech whiz on the dinosaur island in 1993's "Jurassic Park."
In the film, Nedry planned to steal dinosaur embryos and smuggle them out of secure storage in order to make a boatload of money. During a violent thunderstorm, he crashed a jeep and encountered a dinosaur, which ended his chances of a life of riches.
Paying Homage
The TikTok video purported that three specific outfits from "The Goonies" (1985) inspired Nedry's wardrobe in "Jurassic Park."
Did you know that in 1993's "Jurassic Park," there are several subtle references to the beloved 80s movie "The Goonies"?
So if we remember, Nedry is a weasely man trying to steal dino DNA. But let's take a closer look at his fashion choices.
They seem oddly familiar, right? Well, his outfits are direct references to 1985's "The Goonies," as you can see here.
The reason so is that Steven Spielberg was an executive producer on "The Goonies," so I'm assuming he wanted to pay homage to that film.
It's true that Spielberg was an executive producer on "The Goonies" and also directed "Jurassic Park."
The same idea that some relationship exists between the movie characters and their outfits has also appeared in countless tweets.
The original person who appeared to make the possible connection was Reddit user shadewfb.
The Three Outfits
Nedry's three outfits that appeared in the video and tweets were a Hawaiian shirt, gray jacket, and yellow raincoat.
While it's certainly possible that Nedry's outfits were purposely meant to "pay homage" to "The Goonies," we were unable to find any confirmation of the claim from Spielberg, Knight, or anyone else involved in the films.
Other entertainment blogs including Nerdist and Screen Rant were also unable to officially confirm the claim.
It's true that both Chunk in "The Goonies" and Nedry in "Jurassic Park" both wore Hawaiian shirts. However, the shirts weren't quite the same. Also, Nedry's scene with the Hawaiian shirt was on the beach under palm trees. This setting (and Nedry's goofy personality) perhaps called for a Hawaiian shirt regardless of any possible attempt to "pay homage."
The gray jackets worn by Mouth in "The Goonies" and Nedry were somewhat similar. However, it could be argued that if Nedry was truly supposed to resemble Mouth, he would have worn a black T-shirt underneath the jacket.
Finally, the yellow raincoats worn by Mikey in "The Goonies" and Nedry also appeared to be similar. As with the Hawaiian shirt on the beach, it could be argued that Nedry's raincoat in the violent thunderstorm was called for regardless of any attempt for a callback to "The Goonies."
We reached out to Universal Pictures about the claim, and will update this story should we receive a response.
It's possible that we will one day receive confirmation that Nedry's outfits were indeed inspired by clothing from "The Goonies." However, until that day comes, we have rated the claim as "Unproven."