# Krippendorf's Tribe (1998)

### reviewed by
David Sunga

    KRIPPENDORF'S TRIBE (1998)

    Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 4.0)
    ********************************
    Key to rating system:
    2.0 stars - Debatable
    2.5 stars - Some people may like it
    3.0 stars - I liked it
    3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie
    4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out
    *********************************
    A Movie Review by David Sunga

    Directed by: Todd Holland

Written by: Charlie Peters, from a novel by Frank Parkin

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Jenna Elfman, Lily Tomlin, Natasha Lyonne, Gregory Smith, Carl Michael Lindner

    Ingredients:
    Down-and out-professor, his kids, hoax about a lost tribe, jokes and
    farcical situations

Synopsis: In this comedy Anthropology Professor James Krippendorf (Richard Dreyfuss) is disheveled, down on his luck, and badly in debt. His wife has died, his children barely acknowledge him, and the demoralized professor has already squandered grant money which was earmarked for research on an undiscovered New Guinea tribe.

When the day arrives when Krippendorf must give a speech on his research on the lost tribe, instead of confessing that he has not found the tribe, he tells a whopper. Fusing the names of his children (Shelly, Mike, and Edmund), Krippendorf invents the 'Shelmikedmu' - - a previously undiscovered New Guinea culture that lives in single-parent homes. Shelmikedmu family units are supervised by the 'uta bagee' (Dad). According to Krippendorf, the uta bagee must cook, clean, take care of a dysfunctional family full of kids, romance new mates, and survive the tribal version of divorce court.

The academic world is so intrigued by Krippendorf's tribe that soon they pressure the professor for film footage. To keep the university and creditors at bay Krippendorf and his kids soon find themselves creating a studio in the backyard and wearing costumes in order to make fake film footage. In the meantime, the fraud is also a good thing. After their mother's death, the kids barely tolerated their father and each other. But now the Krippendorf family is truly bonding.

Unfortunately, like the proverbial snowball rolling down a hill, the lie keeps getting bigger and bigger. A skeptical academic rival (Lily Tomlin) leaves for New Guinea determined to prove that the Shelmikedmu don't exist. And when painted Shelmikedmu 'tribesmen' are spotted running around in Krippendorf's backyard, it leads to guest spots on talk shows for the 'chief 'of the tribe, an anthropology show on a cable TV network, $100,000 in grant money, and the ever increasing possibility that the hoax will be discovered.

How long can the hoax last before it all falls apart?

Opinion: Pretending to be a lost tribe leads to several humorous situations. The professor and his romantic interest Professor Veronica Micelli (Jenna Elfman) get to grunt and run around in disguise wearing penis sheaths and body paint. He gets Micelli drunk, seduces her, and fools her into donning a tribal costume in order to film the fake mating ritual. She gets revenge by making him eat live insect grubs on a national talk show when he is disguised as the 'uta bagee.' Meanwhile the kids invent the Shelmikedmu circumcision rite, steal goats, and chase a chicken. A monkey farts. And so on.

The character changes are not done well. We don't know whether Veronica Micelli is supposed to be a shameless self-promoter or one of the good guys, but I suspect her character was meant to evolve from one to the other. Similarly, the kids' evolution from dysfunctional family to functional family is not portrayed clearly, and Professor Krippendorf doesn't change at all throughout the story. Probably the original intention of the screenplay was to have Krippendorf come to be a better father, the kids evolve into a better family, and Micelli go from self-promoter to gal hero, but it didn't play out that way. Basically everything takes a back seat to the gags.

On the other hand, if laughs are what you are after, KRIPPENDORF'S TRIBE delivers a lot of gags, and keeps them coming at a consistent rate until the end. As a PG-rated sex farce, KRIPPENDORF'S TRIBE is watchable and keeps an upbeat tempo.

    Reviewed by David Sunga
    February 21, 1998

    Copyright © 1998
    This review and others like it can be found at
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