Great performances 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.Dreyfus handles the comedy with aplomb as he has done before, with the help of a supportive cast. It was nice to see Phil Leeds one last time in a couple of very brief appearances in a crowd scene. He was one of those talented character actors who always added that bit of spice to a production. 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 definitely worth seeing.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

I like Richard Dreyfuss, and he does not disappoint in "Krippendorf's Tribe". We get practically the same character he played in "What About Bob", only this time he is an anthropology professor instead of a psychiatrist. Both films display Dreyfuss's angst as regards the family unit. Both are comedies, although "What About Bob" is a far superior film. The problem with "Krippendprf's Tribe" is that it is essentially a one joke movie hung on an amusing, though not very believable hoax. The film gradually runs out of steam, and some judicious editing might have helped. Nevertheless for fans of Richard Dreyfuss, this is familiar and entertaining ground. - MERK

The plot of "Krippendorf's Tribe" is not entirely terrible. I would not mind seeing a movie about a college anthropology teacher who needs to find an African tribe but has blown all his money and then is forced to use the family as the tribe. The idea is funny and the movie itself had moments that were very entertaining and the movie is not boring at all. But there is a problem with this movie. The script is mildly funny, but the cast is totally in wrong parts that do not fit their talents. Dreyfuss in particular is good in serious roles which is where he succeeds best. "Jaws", "Always", and "Mr. Holland's Opus" are perfect examples of this theory. Now granted Dreyfuss has been good in a couple silly roles such as his parts in "American Graffiti" and "What About Bob?" But those films were written for a part that Dreyfuss can play. In both those films Dreyfuss is a comic figure but his mildly comic mostly serious personality works. All in all this silly role is wrong for him and I think this part would have been better possibly for either Bill Murray, Steve Martin or Chevy Chase. Those guys could play a part like this due to their silly personalities. As far as the rest of the film I found Jenna Elfman and Lily Tomlin to also be miscast. Elfman was very endearing on TV's "Darma and Greg", and Tomlin had wonderful supporting roles in "Nine to Five" and "All of Me". But how did Dreyfuss,Elfman and Tomlin think their talents would work in a script like this? It is not written poorly and its not the worst movie ever like some have claimed. As far as the writing and direction goes it is mediocre. But the casting is where this film fails because the actors that are cast are do too many sophisticated dramatic and comedic roles that they cannot afford to do something laid-back and silly like this. Its easy to see why the cast of this film (particularly Dreyfuss) have not had much activity in recent years. Might be worth the price of a Saturday night movie rental but you know the cast have been in better roles that fit them.

I was an anthropology major in college, and so was especially insulted by the field's infantile representation here. The idea that an anthropology professor could fool one person for one second with the ridiculous B.S. he makes up here is ludicrous. I believe this travesty of a movie has probably done irreparable harm to the field of anthropology. The overriding theme of anthropology is escaping ethnocentrism -- the belief that one's own culture is superior to another -- and by dressing up white kids in blackface and stereotypical costumes and having them run around chasing chickens, this movie is not helping. Now, all this could be forgiven if the movie was actually funny. Then it could be thought of as a comedic send-up of anthropologists, or whatever you wanna call it. But there are maybe two funny moments in the entire running time. Awful. Everything about this movie is disgusting -- From the bathroom humor to the cookie-cutter characters and formulaic script. Everyone involved should have turned down the money and stayed home -- no paycheck is worth being a part of this disgrace.