Krippendorf's Tribe

Hollywood must have run out of plots if it's making wacky comedies at the expense of indigenous cultures. Which it is. Here, Richard Dreyfuss stars as James Krippendorf, an anthropologist raising a family with grant money. When he realizes the fraud could send him to jail, he poses his kids as a previously undiscovered tribe in New Guinea. In typically zany bad-comedy fashion, the hoax snowballs with madcap antics. It's sort of like Wag the Dog as done by the Discovery Channel, except that Krippendorf's Tribe offers almost nothing in terms of entertainment or education.

Worse, the film lacks any attractive characters (once you get past the inevitable sympathy toward Lily Tomlin for being involved in this mess). The cast seems to be having a contest to see who can be the most annoying. Dreyfuss offers his trademark whine as a heavy-handed single parent. Jenna Elfman (Dharma and Greg) is relentlessly cute as his love interest, most gratingly during her cliché-ridden drunk scene. Yet the most painful moments arise whenever the camera turns to Krippendorf's daughter: Natasha Lyonne is even more unbearable than she was in Everyone Says I Love You, if that's possible. By the end of the film, you hope Krippendorf goes to jail, along with Lyonne, director Todd Holland, and pretty much everyone else responsible for this disaster. At the Harbour Mall, Lincoln Mall, Showcase (North Attleboro only), Starcase, Tri-Boro, Warwick Mall and Woonsocket cinemas.

-- Dan Tobin