Truth be told, I never got to see “Jaws 3” in 3-D. I was denied the chance in the summer of 1983, when I begged my eight-months-pregnant mom to take us there instead of going to see “Return of the Jedi” for a second time. (In hindsight, I clearly don’t regret that; “Return of the Jedi” is, objectively speaking, 1 trillion times better than “Jaws 3”.) So I have been stuck watching it on VHS and DVD and on cable TV, with the fields of surreal depth-perception mismatches typical of 3D films that have been reformatted for non-3D media. “Surreal” is putting it kindly; it’s really amateurish and awful to look at.
Regardless, I still wanted to wish “Jaws 3” a happy 40th – it was released in the US in July of 1983. It’s often overlooked in the pantheon of Florida monster movies, even though, unlike “Mega Python vs Gatoroid” and “Spring Break Shark Attack”, it was actually filmed in Florida. The filmmakers still managed to bastardize and misrepresent the setting. And the sharks themselves, although that’s par for the course in the Jaws series.
Richard Matheson, author of “I Am Legend”, numerous classic short stories and many classic “Twilight Zone” episodes, was a co-screenwriter. Which makes it all somewhat more disappointing, although I can’t lay the movie’s failures solely at his feet, of course. Star Dennis Quaid claimed in an interview that he was coked up for the entire shoot. But he can still only perform within the parameters allowed by the script, the director, etc. As with many Florida movies, a fundamental indifference toward the setting’s qualities, on the part of the entire production, was a big factor.
You see, the film is set at SeaWorld Orlando, which as the crow flies, is about 50 miles to the nearest body of salt water, near Port St. John. This is important, since the plot of “Jaws 3” involves not one, but two great white sharks (a mother and child) infiltrating the park. Which doesn’t contain a single natural body of saltwater, then as now. In fact, if you consult Google Maps, you’ll note that there’s not even a continuous waterway – no inlet, estuary, river, etc. – between the Atlantic coast and the large unnamed man-made lake in the center of SeaWorld Orlando.
On the film’s Goofs page at the International Movie Database, you will not find this anomaly listed. But it does appear in the “Incorrectly Listed as Goofs” page, which offers that “it is never actually said exactly where the movie takes place.” The numerous SeaWorld logos displayed throughout the film notwithstanding, I guess.
Critics also did not appreciate this apparent caveat. Almar Hafli of the BBC, in a 2001 retrospective review, noted that it took place at “SeaWorld park in Orlando.” (He also called the film “marginally entertaining.”) Judd Blaise’s review for Allmovie describes the setting as “an ocean-themed Florida amusement park. Blaise also claimed “the script falls into every don’t-mess-with-nature cliché imaginable.” That’s not a drawback here at the Florida Book Club, but suffice it to say that critical reception to the film has never been positive. If you’re a numbers person, “Jaws 3” currently holds a 3.7 rating on IMDB and a sterling 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Somewhat ironically, SeaWorld Orlando’s summer 2023 advertising campaign centers around themes of “realness.” “Real. Amazing” is one such slogan in their televised and online commercials; “Real Happens Here” is another. 40 years after “Jaws 3”, though, they can back it up. A number of current attractions and exhibits are meant to replicate Florida ecosystems and landscapes, and feature native Florida animals. One of the heroic dolphins from the film that rescues the protagonists from the jaws of certain death at the film’s end is still alive and residing happily at Discovery Cove, on the SeaWorld premises! And you can walk through the underwater tunnels of the Shark Encounter, which resemble the ones in which frightened park-goers were trapped by the 35 foot mommy shark in “Jaws 3”, although I’m not sure if they’re the exact same ones. Watch the original trailer – there’s a link right here. It’s also the most ominous and frightening thing related to the movie. Happy 40th, “Jaws 3”! Hopefully I’m around to write a “Jaws 3 at 80” retrospective.
