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Actors: Richard Dreyfuss, Jenna Elfman, Natasha Lyonne, David Ogden Stiers, Lily Tomlin
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Krippendorf's Tribe |
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After the death of his wife, eminent anthropologist James Krippendorf goes into a blue funk and fails to complete his search for a lost tribe that purportedly exists in New Guinea. And that's a problem, because he was given a $100,000 grant for the project, and he has now spent all of that money.
When called upon to give a lecture about the tribe, he concocts the "Shelmikedmu," named for his three children, Shelly (Natasha Lyonne), Mickey (Gregory Smith), and Edmund (Carl Michael Lindner), which, he claims, is the first and only discovered tribe to have single-parent families and practice circumcision.
When the demands of his university's dean (Stephen Root) and president (Doris Belack), as well as pressing financial concerns, require him to provide proof of the Shelmikedmu, Krippendorf enlists the aid of his children and the unwitting help of a publicity-hungry colleague (Jenna Elfman) to manufacture videotapes of the tribe in action.
--James Craver, Resident Scholar
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James Krippendorf, anthropologist and professor (Dreyfuss), has frittered away the grant money he was supposed to use to search for the last undiscovered tribe in New Guinea. So to cover up this misuse of funds, perhaps attract more grant money, and have SOMETHING to lecture about, he creates a fictitious primitive tribe called the Shelmikedmu and concocts video footage of their practices using himself and his children. (The tribe's name is an amalgam of his three kids' names: Shelley, Mickey, and Edmund.) Krippendorf's discovery attracts the attention of a young fellow academic, Veronica Micelli (a lithe and pushy pre-Dharma Elfman) who wants to horn in on the action by "managing" him, and a cable TV producer (Stiers). A fellow faculty member (Tomlin) is suspicious and labors to expose Krippendorf. This 1998 film is often lame, silly, and stupid, but has its hilarious moments and rarely stoops to the obnoxious or crass.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Krippendorf's Tribe |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Kind of comedy
- imposter story
How much humor v. drama
- Nearly all humor
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- scholar
- teacher/professor
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- blonde
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Unclothed?
- Chest
Events of movie makes character more...
- caring
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- blonde
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn curly
Body type
- (woman) very skinny
- (woman) ample bosom & buttocks
Unclothed?
- very tight clothes
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
- general circumstances
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- teacher/professor
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
Hair color
- red
Hair type
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn curly
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Jewish
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
Asia/Pacific/Middle East
Yes
Asian country:
- Pacific Islands
Jungles?
Yes
City?
Yes
City:
- wealthy
Misc setting
- school
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- full of laughter
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references only
- kissing
- use of artificial tools
- sex under blankets
Any profanity?
- None
- Some foul language
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 James Craver
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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