Auto Focus
2/4
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe, Maria Bello, Ron Leibman, Rita Wilson
Rated R for Strong Sexuality, Nudity, Language, Some Drug Use and Violence
A thought kept recurring in my head while I was watching "Auto Focus:" Who cares?
There is one thing that a film must do in order for it to work. It must make the audience care about the characters and the story that they find themselves in. "Auto Focus" doesn't do that. The characters aren't interesting and the story isn't effectively realized. It's just boring.
Bob Crane (Kinnear) is a radio jockey who hopes to have his acting career take off. Although initially reluctant to take a TV role, much less a comedy set in a POW camp, he accepts the role of Robert Hogan on "Hogan's Heroes." The show became a massive hit, and but he did not handle stardom well. His marriage ended, and he lost control of his life to sex addiction, and was ultimately murdered with a camera tripod.
This movie was so unremarkable that it's difficult to find the energy to write a review of it. I guess the first place to start is talking about the performances, since they are the film's most glaring flaw (although by no means the only one). Greg Kinnear has made a career out of playing the "everyman," and he's good at it (although he can play sinister individuals...see "Green Zone" if you don't believe me). So I suppose it makes sense to cast him as the squeaky clean Bob Crane, even if there is minimal resemblance between the two men. It turned out to be a poor fit. Kinnear is trying too hard to be the "average guy" or be funny. Also unimpressive is the usually reliable Willem Dafoe. Dafoe is no stranger to playing creepy characters, but his performance as Crane's leech-like friend is flat. That's partly due to the fact that the script by "Taxi Driver" Paul Schrader doesn't hold up well either. Maria Bello and Rita Wilson are also flat. The only who gives a memorable performance is Ron Leibman, who plays Lenny, Bob's supportive agent. But he has nothing substantial to do.
It could be argued that Schrader has tried to do too much. In a roughly 100 minute movie, he explores the rise and fall of Crane's career, his two failed marriages, his descent into sex addiction, and his relationship with Carpenter. It's too much, which means that a lot of material is left unexplored. Crane's sex addiction, which is really the heart of the movie, is woefully underdeveloped. Had I known nothing about Crane beforehand, I wouldn't have realized what the problem was. And what the hell was with those dream sequences?
In the end, "Auto Focus" is just another generic biopic.
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe, Maria Bello, Ron Leibman, Rita Wilson
Rated R for Strong Sexuality, Nudity, Language, Some Drug Use and Violence
A thought kept recurring in my head while I was watching "Auto Focus:" Who cares?
There is one thing that a film must do in order for it to work. It must make the audience care about the characters and the story that they find themselves in. "Auto Focus" doesn't do that. The characters aren't interesting and the story isn't effectively realized. It's just boring.
Bob Crane (Kinnear) is a radio jockey who hopes to have his acting career take off. Although initially reluctant to take a TV role, much less a comedy set in a POW camp, he accepts the role of Robert Hogan on "Hogan's Heroes." The show became a massive hit, and but he did not handle stardom well. His marriage ended, and he lost control of his life to sex addiction, and was ultimately murdered with a camera tripod.
This movie was so unremarkable that it's difficult to find the energy to write a review of it. I guess the first place to start is talking about the performances, since they are the film's most glaring flaw (although by no means the only one). Greg Kinnear has made a career out of playing the "everyman," and he's good at it (although he can play sinister individuals...see "Green Zone" if you don't believe me). So I suppose it makes sense to cast him as the squeaky clean Bob Crane, even if there is minimal resemblance between the two men. It turned out to be a poor fit. Kinnear is trying too hard to be the "average guy" or be funny. Also unimpressive is the usually reliable Willem Dafoe. Dafoe is no stranger to playing creepy characters, but his performance as Crane's leech-like friend is flat. That's partly due to the fact that the script by "Taxi Driver" Paul Schrader doesn't hold up well either. Maria Bello and Rita Wilson are also flat. The only who gives a memorable performance is Ron Leibman, who plays Lenny, Bob's supportive agent. But he has nothing substantial to do.
It could be argued that Schrader has tried to do too much. In a roughly 100 minute movie, he explores the rise and fall of Crane's career, his two failed marriages, his descent into sex addiction, and his relationship with Carpenter. It's too much, which means that a lot of material is left unexplored. Crane's sex addiction, which is really the heart of the movie, is woefully underdeveloped. Had I known nothing about Crane beforehand, I wouldn't have realized what the problem was. And what the hell was with those dream sequences?
In the end, "Auto Focus" is just another generic biopic.
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