Warkop (an abbreviation of Warung Kopi, meaning "coffee stall") were an Indonesian comedy troupe that enjoyed success in radio, films and television over the 1980s and 1990s. Assembled in Jakarta on 1976 under Prambors management, they initially went by the name Warkop Prambors. They soon burgeoned as the country's top comedy group, surpassing Srimulat and Jakarta Group. After their film debut, they settled on the name Warkop DKI (taken from the initials of the three main members: Dono, Kasino and Indro; also a play on Jakarta's official name, DKI Jakarta).
The members are Wahjoe Sardono (Dono), Kasino Hadiwibowo (Kasino), Indrodjojo Kusumonegoro (Indro), Nanu Mulyono, and Rudy Badil. Dono, Kasino and Nanu were students at University of Indonesia and Indro was a student at Pancasila University. Their student background prompted them to incorporate social criticism into their comedy. The only surviving member of the core trio is Indro, after Kasino died from a brain tumor in 1997 and Dono died from lung cancer in 2001, and he still appears in comedy films.
Warkop produced most of their work over 1979-1994, starring in 34 comedy films. In 2016, a Pragmatic Adaptation titled Warkop DKI Reborn: Jangkrik Boss! Part 1 was released, starring Abimana Aryasatya (Dono), Vino G. Bastian (Kasino) and Tora Sudiro (Indro) and combining elements from several original movies. A sequel, Warkop DKI Reborn
◊: Jangkrik Boss! Part 2, was released a year after.
In February 2021, several of the original trio's remastered films were made available on Netflix with English subtitles.
Tropes that appear in their films:
- Affectionate Parody: They made several movies based on beloved American 1970s and 1980s TV series, such as The Six Million Dollar Man and CHiPs.
- Kasino also wears Sherlock Homage clothes in Depan Bisa Belakang Bisa. In the same film, Dono turns into Space Sheriff Gavan (very low budget
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- Kasino also wears Sherlock Homage clothes in Depan Bisa Belakang Bisa. In the same film, Dono turns into Space Sheriff Gavan (very low budget
- Arc Words: Some films end with this sentence written in big letters before the end credit rolls: Tertawalah Sebelum Tertawa Itu Dilarang. ("Laugh Before Laughter Is Forbidden.")
- Asian Buckteeth: Dono's is often made fun of, and there's also the recurring security guard Diding, who debuted in Bisa Naik Bisa Turun.
- As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Since he doesn't know the lyrics, Kasino's rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" in Sama Juga Bohong starts with him singing random Javanese words to the tune. He manages to salvage the performance by somehow seamlessly transitioning to the Teresa Teng song "Ni Zhe Me Shuo", which lyrics he does know.Indro: That's not "Black Dog", that's "Black Liong"!
- Attractive Bent-Gender: They're always seen in-universe as this when cross-dressing, although from the viewer's point of view they're very obviously men.
- Best Friends-in-Law: In the 1995-1997 tv series, Indro is married to Dono's younger sister.
- Big Little Sister: In the 1995-1997 tv series, Dono has younger sister who is taller than him, thanks to being played by half-European (Czech, specifically) Statuesque Stunner model Karina Suwandi.
- Chivalrous Pervert: The trio in many films and tv shows.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Whenever they have girlfriends (or wives, in the 1995-1997 tv series), expect them to be one of these, thanks to the trio's Chivalrous Pervert tendency.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Kasino's Catchphrase from Dongkrak Antik:
- Comic Trio: Usually Dono is The Fool, Kasino is the Only Sane Man, and Indro is The Leader.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: The last "arc" of Gantian, Dong! has Indro getting picked on by one of these.
- Creation Sequence: Manusia 6 Juta Dollar (The Six Million Dollar Man parody) naturally has one.
- Date Rape Averted: In Dongkrak Antik, Dono, a waiter, is asked by a customer to spike his date's orange juice with aphrodisiac powder. He has no moral objections to doing it (since he apparently has no idea why the customer asked for it), but inadvertently saves the girl when he forgets which table ordered the drink and asked aloud to the entire restaurant who ordered the drink mixed with aphrodisiac and eventually gives it to the man in front of his date. Being The Fool, he then drinks the orange juice himself, leading to a short Mushroom Samba.
- Deep Sleep: The last "arc" of Sabar Dulu, Dong! has the trio and their two female friends, who are working in a hotel, dealing with one of hotel guests whom they thought to be dead after the guest ate a food that they thought to be poisoned. The guest is actually just having a really good deep sleep to the point he's unawakeable until he's awaken on his own.
- Doppelgänger: Indro occasionally sees other people who look exactly like him, either due to hallucination or otherwise, and has also done a Fake Twin Gambit.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: They averted The Danza trope in their earlier films. In these films, their characters' names are Slamet (Dono), Sarwani (Kasino), and Paijo (Indro). Indro also lacks a Pornstache in a few of these films.
- Fake Relationship: Marina, a housemate of the trio's, is concerned that her grandparents will try to force her into an arranged marriage and at the spur of the moment pretends to already be married to Dono. Not least because Marina is played by Eva Arnaz, unsurprisingly Dono attempts to take the charade a bit further than necessary.
- Fanservice: Many 1980s sexy Indonesian actresses have appeared in their movies, such as Eva Arnaz, Kiki Fatmala, and Inneke Koesherawati. The comedy trio are also very aware of Panty Shot opportunities.(a gust of wind flips the skirts of an entire female marching band)
Indro: Such a nice view, Kas.
Kasino: Reminds me of Pasir Putihnote . Or Baturadennote . - Funny Foreigner: Especially when the foreigners speak Indonesian. Dono has an American girlfriend in several movies, with names like Grace and Madonna. Their unfamiliarity with Indonesian culture, such as mistaking a bowl of hand-washing water for soup and drinking it, is a recurring gag.
- Fun with Acronyms:
- As mentioned above, their group name is both the initials of the main members and the official name of Jakarta. Coincidentally, when Kasino died, the remaining members (Dono, Indro) still kind of form up an official name of another noteworthy Indonesian province: DI (Daerah Istimewa/Special Region) Yogyakarta.
- In the movie which parodies the 80s series CHiPs, the acronym stands for "Cara Hebat Ikut Penanggulangan Sosial" (Great Way to Solve Social Problems).
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: For example, Musashi in Depan Bisa Belakang Bisa speaks Japanese to Kasino in the beginning, even though he can speak Indonesian.
- Groin Attack: Happens a lot to the trio or other male characters. Usually Played for Laughs though there are few instances when it isn't. In one instance, after his groin is hit really hard with a soccer ball, Dono had to go to doctor to treat the injury and he's actually worried if the damage is permanent. In another instance, Indro's groin is accidentally hit really hard with a fuel tank by a woman and this temporarily incapacitated him for few scenes later where he became limp. In yet another instance, Kasino unknowingly had his genital bitten by a chicken and for whatever reason, there are few seconds when he really thought the chicken completely ripped it clean off.
- Insistent Terminology: Happens in both ends. In Sabar Dulu, Dong!, Dono keeps a pet which disgusts other characters because they believe it's a (domesticated) rat. On the other hand, Dono insists it's not a rat, but an Irianiannote Rabbit, which is of course a non-existent animal species. The movie doesn't really make it clear what the pet really is but it can't be a rat since its tail is short, and it appears to be a guinea pig.
- Intellectual Animal: In Malu-Malu Mau, Kasino and a female friend haggle over a sofa with Killer, the shop owner's dog. The dog doesn't speak, but barks threateningly at the two and refuses to step down from the sofa until the price is satisfactory.
- Intentional Engrish for Funny: When they work at a hotel:Guest: Thank you.
Dono: Come back. (Direct translation of "Kembali", a way to say "you're welcome")
Guest: (comes back to the reception desk) Yes?
Kasino: (to Dono in Indonesian) Hey, when he said 'Thank you' don't say 'Come back', of course he'll come back! See how it's done! (in Engrish to guest) This key for you, Sir.
Guest: Thank you!
Kasino: Same-same! (Direct translation of "Sama-sama", another way to say "you're welcome") - Irrelevant Act Opener: They often break into a music performance in the middle of the movies which has no relation to what happened before or after.
- Kavorka Man: Dono is seen as unattractive (at least in-universe) but usually gets the prettiest girls.
- Meaningful Name:
- The one-eyed president of the Japanese jewelry firm in Depan Bisa Belakang Bisa is named Satomata, a pun for "one-eyed".
- Also a Double Entendre, in Dongkrak Antik, the Sexy Secretary who is the Love Interest of both Dono and their boss is named Anunia, a homophone for "her thing" or "her unmentionables".
- Mundane Utility: In Manusia 6 Juta Dollar, they regularly use the bionically enhanced Dono's buckteeth to open bottles.
- Obfuscating Disability:
- One example is when Kasino pretends to be blind to take part in a music contest for blind people.Host: Congratulations! Here's your 500,000 rupiah ($250 at the time) prize!
Kasino: Huh? These are the fake money they burn at Chinese funerals!
Host: How do you know that? Aren't you blind?
Kasino: Uh... the cash... smells like a cemetery? - On a meta level, the movies often portray characters with various disabilities for comedy, such as Indro's Speech Impediment and Mat Solar who is hard of hearing.
- In Dongkrak Antik, Indro deliberately breaks his stuttering character.Indro: K-k-k-k... damn this is hard! Keys! You forgot the keys!
- In Dongkrak Antik, Indro deliberately breaks his stuttering character.
- One example is when Kasino pretends to be blind to take part in a music contest for blind people.
- Pornstache: Aside from a few of earlier films, Indro is never seen without his signature mustache.
- Product Placement: Some of the films prominently feature, of all things, vitamin supplement brands. After all, these Casanova Wannabes need plenty of energy.
- Scenery Porn: The movies often feature extended shots of 70s and 80s downtown Jakarta, which is very different from today.
- Signature Style: Most Warkop movies will end with one characters yelling one word as loud as possible (usually while in pain, like having an ear pulled), and the word's text is shown on the screen and zoomed to the screen.
- Sketch Comedy: Each movie starts with around a dozen sketches unrelated to the main story.
- Song Parody: One beloved by fans is a parody of "Sukiyaki", known as "Nyanyian Kode" ("Code Song"), which is sung by Kasino when he's disguising himself as a busker at a food stall to tell Dono to keep watch of a girl they're investigating (they're private detectives in that movie)."Yang baju merah jangan sampai lepas!" ("Don't let the one in red escape!")
- Sustained Misunderstanding: In Dongkrak Antik, Mat Solar and Indro visit Mat's uncle in the hospital, but Mat is hard of hearing and concerned that he can't make conversation. Indro suggests that he asks a set of questions and comments with the assumption that his uncle would respond in a positive light. Unfortunately, his uncle responds to all three questions negatively, and Indro, because of his extreme stuttering, can't stop Mat from incurring his uncle's wrath.Mat: Are you feeling better, Uncle?
Uncle: Feeling better? I think I'll die in a week or two!
Mat: I wish it can happen as soon as possible. Do you like the food here?
Uncle: The food here is like horse feed!
Mat: Excellent! I see they know what's best for you. And what about the doctors?
Uncle: The doctors? I'm sure they're nothing more than animal carers!
Mat: That's great! This hospital knows how to take care of patients like you. - Title Drop: Happens in almost every movie.
- Two Girls to a Team: In several films, the main characters are the trio and their two female friends, usually the girlfriends of Kasino and Indro, respectively, while Dono is either single or his girlfriend is The Sixth Ranger. This is also true in the 1995-1997 tv series where the two women are Kasino and Indro's wives, respectively (Indro's wife is also Dono's younger sister).
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: They're generally afraid of dogs and often get chased by one.
- Women Are Wiser: In the 1995-1997 tv series, Kasino and Indro's respective wives are decidedly wiser and more sensible, even if rather clingy and easily jealous. Indro's wife can even repeatedly scold Dono for his antics despite Dono is her older brother.
- "INDEEEEEEKKS!!!!!"Translation
