Krippendorf's Tribe MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 Content: -2 1/2

James Krippendorf (Richard Dreyfuss) finds himself on the horns of a dilemma. The university where he teaches anthropology gave him a $100,000 grant a year ago to study unknown tribes in New Guinea. James' wife and fellow anthropologist has died, the grant money is gone, the bank is threatening to foreclose, and the university wants a lecture series now. Frantically, James persuades his three rebellious children to help him build a native hut in their back yard. All dress in native costumes while dad films primitive tribal customs created from the fertile imagination of the children. Of course one lie leads to another, and soon Dr. Krippendorf is in demand as a guest on television, the subject of magazine articles and a lecturer. A new faculty member, Veronica (Jenna Elfman) insists on being a member of his team, creating more complications for the professor.

KRIPPENDORF'S TRIBE is like a bad dream that never gets better with its 90-minute one joke plot. Going to such lengths to deceive his employer, enlisting his children's help, and never admitting his deception earns the professor failing marks as a role model. James' teenage daughter (Natasha Lyonne) has more character than her father. She disapproves of his lying, but remains loyal, and finally even joins in the scheme. The tribal rituals are mostly crude - one, a circumcision acted out by the two boys, and another, a fertility right describing the tribe's mating habits. For that filming, James lures Veronica to his home, gets her drunk, then both dress in native wear. He then proceeds to film them having sex, which is implied. In a TV interview, a fake native grabs Veronica's breast, and she grabs his crotch. All of the film's humor is crude and much of it focuses on the fictional tribe's fixation on the male anatomy. Offensive language includes four regular profanities and five obscenities, plus several crudities. We can't think of one reason to see this crude, silly comedy.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures (Walt Disney Co.) 500 S. Buena Vista, Burbank CA 91521