KRIPPENDORF'S TRIBE (1998) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Director: Todd Holland Writer: Charlie Peters (based on the book by Frank Parkin) Starring: Richard Dreyfus, Jenna Elfman, Lily Tomlin, Natasha Lyonne, Gregory Smith, Carl Michael Linder, David Ogden Stiers
"Krippendorf's Tribe" is a film that is funny some of the time, but for the rest, we're left with a really weak one-note comedy which never goes anywhere, and never enlightens past its outrageous premise. It's a film filled with some talented (and not-so-talented) actors who you can tell had a good time making this film, but just because making a film is fun doesn't mean the movie will be. In the end, "Krippendorf's Tribe" is exactly what was hinted at in the trailers: an occasionally witty film that never reaches beyond its boundaries.
As you probably know from the trailers, "Krippendorf's Tribe" deals with James Krippendorf (Richard Dreyfus), an anthropologist who was searching for a lost tribe in New Guinea, but on his search his wife died, leaving him to raise their three kids (played by Natasha Lyonne, Gregory Smith, and Carl Michael Linder), and, of course, he didn't find the lost tribe. His days consist of him roaming around the house drearily and spewing out droll one-liners (he picks up a carton of milk, reads the date, and says "April 3rd?! I need a year!").
Unfortunately, his days of depressed slothness have rendered him ignorant to the fact that he has to give a speech one night, and the day before that, a perky assistant of his, Veronica Micelli (Jenna Elfman, from "Dharma and Greg"), stops by, and tells him. He tries to make up something, but ends up lying through his teeth, naming the tribe "Shelmikedmu," after his three kids names, and coming up with some bogus practices, like the family unit is run by a single father.
But he needs proof. So he begins filming false movies of rituals in his back yard, using his three children, and, later on, including a drunken Veronica, who, luckily for him, still has a crush on him. Meanwhile, a stuck-up colleague of his (Lily Tomlin) is out to prove him wrong, and journeys with her assistant to New Guinea to track down the tribe herself. So James has to come up with even more lies to cover him, or he'll be going to jail, or be sued, or, worse off, have his reputation tarnished.
Sounds funny? I didn't think so either. Most of the time, we get lame jokes, and some really forced situations which we, the audience, are expected to swallow. The premise in itself does have some promise, though. In the hands of better filmmakers, this could have turned into something that was brilliantly funny, maybe even a little satirical. But this film takes the easy way out: never really going anywhere that is interesting or even intelligent, and never trying to go beyond what the trailers hint at. In fact, this film doesn't even really have an ending; it's almost a redo of the beginning.
"Krippendorf's Tribe" is set up so that it moves in circles: we get a problem set up, the problem apparently solved, then another problem set up. And James never changes at all. This film is too lighthearted not to bring him to a conclusion that perhaps his life is really not in the best position, and maybe he should change it. The only thing that changes is his family's respect for him, but come on, how could they respect this guy? I mean, sure he's likable, but he's a baldfaced liar who never figures out that lies are bringing him more and more dilemnas. In fact, not only does no one realize the error of their ways, but they get worse (one character starts off being kinda likable, and ends up much worse off than she was before).
It's too bad, because there are some geniuinely funny moments, mostly due to the fact that the lead actors are actually good. Just because it's a bad comedy doesn't mean it doesn't have some good comic performances. Richard Dreyfus is not only a great actor, but a comic genius, and here we get to see him doing what he does best: acting immensely stressed in extremely tight situations. He brings this film above what would be bad comedy hell, and into something which we see just to see him. He's partnered up with Jenna Elfman, who's also a great comic actor in her own respect, and the two have some really geniune comic chemistry.
Most of the supporting cast is wasted (most notably David Ogden Stiers, who is brought in then suffled aside), but Lily Tomlin, though horribly underwritten, is funny a couple times, and Natasha Lyonne, the narrating daughter from "Everyone Says I Love You," hits the right notes as James bitter daughter.
What's left is a film that I laughed at a couple times, but the rest of the time was pretty cold towards. If the film had gone somewhere other than in circles, it may have been a good, fun comedy. If it had expanded on its themes, it may have even been a classic (I know that's a bit of a stretch...). But what we have is only marginally funny, and highly forgettable. But at least it has Richard Dreyfus, which was a start.
MY RATING (out of 4): **
Homepage at: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/8335/
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