Jurassic Park III was the second film in the franchise to get the main character on an island filled with dinosaurs through misdirection. The first was in The Lost World: Jurassic Park when John Hammond sent Sarah Harding, Ian Malcolm's girlfriend, to the island ahead of him to coax Malcolm into joining his expedition. But the second was far more egregious, as Paul and Amanda Kirby tricked Dr. Grant and his assistant Billy onto Isla Sorna with the promise of funding for their work. But even though the reveal happened midway through the film, a small Easter egg foreshadowed the betrayal early on.
While the Kirby's tricked Dr. Grant early in the film, their intentions were from a good place as they wanted nothing more than to save their son, who had gotten stranded on Isla Sorna. They also got instructed to find a guide after hiring mercenaries to protect them from the dinosaurs. But rather than turn to Dr. Malcolm, who had been to Isla Sorna, they instead hired Dr. Grant as they confused the island with his experience on Isla Nublar. In order to get him to join, they posed as millionaires and invited Dr. Grant and Billy to a bar. After glorifying their credentials with claims of even going to the moon, Paul Kirby then shows Dr. Grant a checkbook with the promise that he can deliver on any price he asks.
During this scene, explained by the subreddit, MovieDetails, the bar played a song called "Big Hat, No Cattle" by Randy Newman. The country song actually tells a story of irony because it talks about a man who spent his entire life lying about everything he'd done. As a result, he talked like he had a big hat but had no cattle to speak of. While the song got played in a comedic/cautionary tone, there's a degree of tragedy to it as the man the song was about knew he was lying, yet he couldn't stop.
How the song played into the scene also worked well on two fronts. Subtly, it showed how Paul Kirby talked a big game about his money, experiences and promises. He was exactly like the man in the song, but rather than do it out of habit, he lied out of necessity. That said, it didn't stop Dr. Grant from getting sucked into the scheme and putting his life in danger because of Paul. But it also played into how Paul was put into a position of lying, much like the man in the song, offering more agency and reason for his actions.
For the second factor that made the song a perfect choice in the film, it was brief but played just before the transition where Dr. Grant accepted the offer. When he got handed the check, and he looked at Paul with a smile, the song in the background could be heard playing the line "Stood up straight, threw my head back, and I lied, lied, lied," which subconsciously entered the audience's mind as a clear indicator that the Kirbys were not what they appeared to be.
Jurassic Park III may be the most peculiar film of the franchise, as it was mostly a side story that leaned into more of an action movie spectacle. While it offered some fun moments, the horror elements in the franchise got abandoned. But just because the one shifted tone, it didn't mean that the subtlety that made the films iconic was lost. That got shown in the bar scene, which set up a huge betrayal and a big character moment for Paul Kirby, who found his inner strength once the truth came out.
