Krippendorf's Tribe

I just rented this movie the other night and have to say... I enjoyed it very much! It was funny and a little adventurous. I like Richard Dreyfuss's work and always have. I'd see Krippendorf's Tribe again! ...in spite of what others may think of this movie.

This movie had all the makings of an 18th century comedy. People perform stuff like this on stage, and they're regarded as "classics," "cleverly crafted" etc., and judging by the comments, most people think this is the worst movie of all time. Yes, it was using some low humour, but I personally loved the absurdity and all the social commentary allusions to our own tribal way of living. That's what a farce is.

I particularly thought the middle child did a superb job, knowing the family of two anthropologists would definitely produce that kind of a family. It appealed on all levels of humour I thought, and had something for everyone to laugh at, except the Richard Dreyfuss fans from what I've read.

"Krippendorf's Tribe" (1998) stars Richard Dreyfuss as the titular grieving anthropologist who is compelled to hoax an isolated tribe still living in the Stone Age. Jenna Elfman plays his assistant, Natasha Lyonne his daughter, Stephen Root his boss and Lily Tomlin his rival.

As my title blurb says, this movie spoofs Academia and the Tasaday hoax. If you're not familiar with the latter, a supposedly isolated tribe still living in the Stone Age was "discovered" on the Philippine island of Mindanao and prominently featured in a 1972 issue of National Geographic. In 1986 it was discovered that the Tasaday were simply members of known local tribes who put on the appearance of living a Stone Age lifestyle under pressure from Manuel Elizalde.

The movie's silly and fun, but not laugh-out-loud funny, although there are a handful of mild laughs. That said, humor's a personal thing, which explains why some people find this movie funny. I don't, but it's likable and quietly amusing. If you're a fan of Dreyfuss and Elfman it's a must.

The film runs 94 minutes and was shot in the Los Angeles area and Ka'a'awa, O'ahu, Hawaii.

GRADE: C+

Well, it seems like perhaps my opinion of this film is somewhat rare compared to most. I didn't like it, I didn't hate it...it was just an adequate time-filler. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but it just isn't too funny either, which can be a problem if you're making a comedy. There's nothing I can really praise or trash about this movie, so I'd say that if you have an extreme need to see a standard film that isn't boring or especially entertaining, then this should nicely satisfy your mediocre movie requirements.

If it is possible to recommend a film soley on the fact that it has a couple funny scenes, "Krippendorf's Tribe" is the one to recommend. It is not sporadically funny. It is barely remotely funny. But it hits the laugh-mark a few times, and when it does, the results are hilarious.

The hilarious scene in "Krippendorf's Tribe" isn't a potentially smart one, nor a particularly witty one. But it is hilarious, and it had me rolling over on the floor in laughter. Sadly, there are only one or two scenes like this; the rest of the film tries to be funny but just isn't. Blame it on the script, blame it on the director, but don't blame it on Richard Dreyfuss, because you can tell he tried.

Dreyfuss plays Krippendorf, an anthropologist researching a legendary tribe deep in New Guinea. The film opens with shots of him filming with his camera. Unfortunately, he comes back to America with no evidence of any real tribe. But the real bad news is that his grant money has been completely used up. And things get even worse when Krippendorf finds out that a person can go to jail for what he has done (misappropriating grant money).

The day of his lecture on the tribe grows nearer, and when he finally gets up in front of everyone...he lies.

You see, earlier that day, in the spur of a moment, Krippendorf took his three children, dressed them up with Indian-tribe-type cloaks, and painted their faces. Presto. Instant tribe-members. He filmed them in the backyard, then took the video to his conference, where he proceeds to lie to everyone in the room, saying he has found the legendary tribe and has caught them on videotape. He plays the tape, and they all believe him. Whew.

But now they want to see more. They want to see the tribe. They want to hear about their lifestyles, their rituals; Access Hollywood, anyone?

Because of this plot setup results the funniest scene in the movie, in which Krippendorf sets up a fake circumcision bit with one of his children. I won't ruin that scene, because it is really the only thing worth seeing in the movie.

If you want a night-in watching a film, but don't feel like anything profound of memorable, "Krippendorf's Tribe" is the way to go, but don't expect anything too special.

2.5/5 stars -

John Ulmer