Auto Focus (2002)

Brilliant and touching

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

PLOT: Bob Crane (Greg Kinnear), the charismatic one-time star of hit sitcom 'Hogan's Heroes', used to (early adopter) video himself having sex, with women he met on sleazy theatrical tours. Then his geeky, needy, creepy partner-in-swinging John H. Carpenter (Willem Dafoe) may or may not have bashed his brains in with a camera tripod.CONTEXT: As you'd expect - nay demand from a pr0n-addict film - there's a lot of T'n'A, ie late sixties-style stripping, in Auto Focus. If there weren't, it would be very boring indeed. Many people, celebrities or not, indulge themselves in this sort of thing, so the only thing that makes Bob's story different and not boring is that he met a violent death that officially remains unsolved. His videos were extremely fuzzy, it would appear.SCRIPTING: We've seen the 'washed-up actor pleads with agent' (and he steals it) scene before; we've seen the 'washed-up a*hole has acrimonious divorce' many times. John 'Carp' Carpenter's alleged motivation for smashing Bob's skull is the only character development available, and maybe because they couldn't actually state that John did it explicitly, it's kind of contrived. The movie has no climax (no money shots either).OTHER: The story is weak and melodramatic, but the casting of the Hogan's crew is uncanny. I actually thought it was Werner Klemperer. And the vintage video gear is something to slather over when you're tired of the quasi-hardcore teasers. Is Auto Focus relevant or meaningful in these days of freely available hardcore? It knows who it's talking to, is all.SUMUP: But even pretend explicit sex invariably breaks the fourth wall, and If you're going to break the fourth wall, do it on purpose, not because you're trying to do pretend pr0n. Odd title, too. You can imagine this without seeing it.

I have not been able to find this movie at any of the local stores. I would sort of like to see what Hollywood is showing regarding the star of Hogan. I have always gotten lots of laughs from the show but sometimes got the feeling Hogan was overdoing it.I go to youtube to get my Hogans fix every once in awhile.When I saw that Maria Bello was playing Hilda (Sigrid Valdis) I was skeptical. I have liked her in everything I have seen of her but to put her in the role of Hilda? Oh boy that is a stretch. Hilda was a healthy, curvy hunk of woman, while Bello is considerably thinner.I found the movie on netflix, so I just have to wait for it to arrive, then I'll come back and edit this review.

Famed screenwriter turned director Paul Schrader was the ideal directing choice for this controversial look at the last years (starting in 1965) of former sitcom star Bob Crane before his untimely unsolved murder in 1978. The film details how Bob Crane got the coveted lead role on "Hogan's Heroes" to his fateful meeting with John Carpenter (not to confused with the famous horror film director) and the infamous downward spiral that lead to the decline of Crane's career and ultimately to his murder.Playing the important role of Bob Crane is Greg Kinnear who is quite well suited to the part. The actor dyed his normally blonde hair to resemble the late sitcom star's trademark dark hair to donning the iconic "Hogan Heroes"'s jacket (the actual jacket worn by Bob was loaned to the film by the surviving relatives) and tackling the distinctive vocal tone Crane was known for (without trying way too hard to be carbon-copy, but paying tribute). Kinnear displays a unique chemistry with his fellow costars from a contentious professional relationship with Michael Rodgers who plays Richard Dawson (who played Le Beau on "Hogan Heroes"), a strained and eventually adversarial marriage and divorce with Rita Wilson who plays Bob Crane's first wife Anne, a really strange and well publicized (at the time) marriage to his second wife Patty 'Sigrid Valdis' played by Maria Bello and then there is the twisted and disturbing friendship with friend and sexual escapade wing-man John Carpenter played to sleazy and creepy perfection by Willem Dafoe. Kinnear manages to capture all the highs and lows of Bob Crane's personal and professional life without going over the top when the actor hits a low point, maintaining a stoicism that keeps Kinnear grounded. There are a few moments where the actor delves into some cartoonish comedy with costar Dafoe, but makes it fit the "black comedy" moniker of the film.As the yin to Greg Kinnear's yang, John Carpenter, is another fine performance by Willem Dafoe. Adorned in an extremely trendy 1960s-1970s wardrobe while spouting the era's trademark phrases, Dafoe maintains a stand-offish vibe for John Carpenter that contrasts the more outgoing Greg Kinnear's Bob Crane yet the actor is still charismatic when called upon for the film's shocking sex scenes or when he flirts with female characters. Rarely slipping into comedic moments except for a spot-on impression of late actor Werner Klemperer's famous "Hogan!" line and some sideline cheer-leading for his and Kinnear's debaucherous acts, Dafoe spearheads the dramatic elements as his character was the catalyst for Bob Crane's infamous fall from grace. By the time of the former friends' falling out, the tension spikes during the final phone call where Dafoe coldly refuses a lift to the airport with an ominous sounding "Don't bother. Don't ****ing bother." The narrative is based on true events with regards to Bob Crane's time as a radio DJ, to starring on "Hogan's Heroes", his tumultuous relationships with his wives (though not much was publicized except for Crane's 2nd marriage) and his escapades with John Carpenter. The film is based off the true crime book by famed writer Robert Graysmith (who also wrote a book on the Zodiac murders that David Fincher made into a film) who does stick to facts with some embellishments of course as no one knows what occurred during many of the film's events. The script does paint a realistic portrait of the story that the public was fed after Bob Crane's death detailing his infamous sexual escapades that were indeed captured on video by both Crane and Carpenter to the film's final note about how John Carpenter was accused, eventually charged and acquitted of murder in the 1990s (nearly two decades after Crane's murder) and Carpenter's 1998 death. The film does not assume to know the whole story, but portrays the action as accurately as possible and with a voyeuristic quality that lets us peek into the narrative while remaining on the outside perimeter. This movie will certainly be hard to watch fr its debaucherous acts and unflinching insight into its subjects. Still a cinematic viewing experience worth taking if desired.

I can't imagine how this film has been given such a high rating here. Kinnear didn't come close to capturing Crane's confidence or charisma. His performance made Crane look like a hen-pecked Baptist; not the cocky man who dripped sheer hubris his Hogan character portrayed.The only good thing I can say about this film is that it would have given Ignatius J. Riley hours and hours worth of highly satisfactory mocking privileges.Kinnear appears to be a one-dimensional actor incapable of putting together a performance that doesn't remind viewers of his sniveling role in Little Miss Sunshine or his less than suave Dr. David Ravell in Nurse Betty.