Customer Reviews

Krippendorf's Tribe

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As much as I don't care for Dreyfuss or Elfman, I really enjoyed this movie, and thats a shocker to everyone who knows me because I walked into the theater with my once normal "everything [is bad]" attitude; If I can think something's funny, anyone can. Do yourself a favor, ignore the cynical reviews everyone else says, THIS IS FUNNY STUFF!!

This movie is spontaneous, energizing, fast-paced and funny. You really 'get into' what is going on and the more you let your mind be open the more you will Laugh. We recently tried a new wine and, of course, could not stop laughing about scenes in the movie. This is the type of movie that makes life fun. Superb acting!!

I saw this movie not really knowing what to expect. I was amused and kept on the edge of my seat. I was not expecting anything of the stars and, evidently, that's what you need - an open mind. Since I have seen this in the theater I have anxiously awaited the release of it in home video - which I purchased right away. If you want a nice, funny, laid back movie - this is it.

I EXPECTED THIS MOVIE TO BE A BORING FAMILY FILM. BOY WAS I WRONG! I LAUGHED FROM BEGININNG TO END. JENNA ELFMAN AND RICHARD DREYFUS ARE HILARIOUS.I I LOVED IT.

I laughed a lot. It was a unique movie; I have never seen anything like it before. If you like off-beat comedies like "Captain Ron" and "Carbon Copy", you'll enjoy this. If you take things too seriously like a New York theater-goer, then this is not your film.

This is a great DVD movie for all, but especially anthropologists and other university types as it shows Dreyfuss' characther doing what he can to keep his grants and his prestigious job. It is indeed "hysterically funny" and "wildly hilarious" as the covers say and despite its lack of extras is a fine disc so rush out and buy it and...

Wait, there's one little problem...WHERE'S THE WIDESCREEN? The back specs say Widescreen, so why is it FullScreen? Granted, the 'home movie' film clips would be difficult to render Wide, but still, why say it is when it is not. Very disappointing, which is why I give it only 3 stars and suggest being careful if that is what you want, otherwise, enjoy. Also, if your looking for another movie like this, check out Joe Versus the Volcano with Tom Hanks.

KRIPPENDORF'S TRIBE (1998) is best described in one sentence: a washed-up anthropology professor invents a New Guinea tribe in order not to be prosecuted for stealing grant money. If that sounds like a thrill of a comedy, then I say go for it.

Richard Dreyfus as Prof. Krippendorf made what hay he could; Jenna Elfman as his partner in crime, Veronica, is quite funny. The film has its hilarious moments, yet I recall when I saw this new. We found it irritating and stupid. Perhaps that was the point - I really don't know. All I know is the thing has become a 2nd-banana favorite for some weird reason.

Maybe it's Dreyfus; maybe it's because it is one of the few films that has anthropology at its roots. Lily Tomlin as Krippendorf's mortal enemy Professor Ruth Allen is quite brilliant, though she is oddly cut out of most of the film's action. This was one of the last films in which Tomlin had a chance to really shine - and the same goes for Dreyfus. David Ogden Stiers plays Henry Spivey, head cheese of a Discovery-like channel about anthropology and he actually shines in the few minutes of screen time he gets here.

There is a story and it is a touching one; there is comedy both cheap and sophisticated (I counted about 18 anthropology jokes which could have served the purpose, and which this film totally missed). The cast is far from stellar even with Dreyfus, Tomlin and Stiers at the helm. In the end, it is just another one of those silly 1990s comedies - and I say get it or not, take it or leave it.

This is one of the funniest movies I ever saw, and I have seen alot. Great preformances by Dreyfuss and Elfman make this movie work wonderfully and make you laugh so hard you think your going to cry. This film is put together in a way it's sure to make you laugh.
Professor James Krippendorf(Richard Dreyfess) is a Professor of anthropology and also a widower. Down in depression he ends up using the universities grant money for his own personal use. Faced with either confessing and going to jail, or going on with his fairy tale tribe. He chooses to go on with his made up tribe the Shelmikedmu. Using his own 3 kids and back yard for filming. He comes up with the most unique tribe ever seen before. Also with the help of his over anxious colleague Veronica Macelli(Jenna Elfman) who wont leave him alone. He ends up going deeper and deeper into his fairytale tribe, and trying to keep up with his lie. They end up taking the tribe national. But there is one of his colleagues Ruth Allen that just isn't swallowing all this Shelmikedmu stuff. So she decides to go to New Guinea and prove that it's all a scam. Even Krippendorf goes so far he ends up going in person and on national tv as the Cheif Utta Baji.
This movie is very well put together, and just so ridiculous you got to laugh. In the end you will wish you were shelmikedmu too. It's definetly worth having in your movie collection and seeing.

I own this on VHS and it is only one of two movies I can think of that is comedic and concerns anthropology, unless you count N.C.'s early Yanomamo documentaries. The other is "The Gods Must Be Crazy." Yes it is funny- they both are. It's a little bit too formulaic as a comedy to rate five stars but Lily Tomlin is hilarious as the competitive colleague. And I've always liked Richard Dreyfuss since he first stuck his head in the doorway of Dustin Hoffman's room in "The Graduate". Just fun.

Professor Krippendorf got so caught up in being a parent after his wife passed away that he spent his anthropology grant money with nothing to show for it. In essence, he embezzled it. Having broken the law and ruined his career (if he gets found out), he decides that there's really no difference between a small fraud and a big one and so he goes ahead to invent a giant hoax. The popularity of the bizarre tribe he invents is so immense that he can't escape its vortex and takes shameless advantage of everyone including his family and his amorous and greedy grad student to perpetuate his humbug. What makes this flick funny is the over-the-top, go-for-broke way in which the characters abandon every moral fibre. And then there's the surprise ending!