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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
Auto Focus
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 out of 4
Review by Susan Granger
2½ stars out of 4
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Do you recognize the name: Bob Crane? When I got my first on-air job
at WICC back in the '60s, he had already left Bridgeport for a disc jockey gig
at KNX in Los Angeles. According to this obviously fictionalized biography, the
handsome, likable Crane was a faithful husband until he got to Hollywood and
became a sex-addict. That's the first error I caught - and it's a pivotal one.
Truth is: Crane's reputation as a promiscuous womanizer had been firmly
established within the Connecticut radio community. Then when his comedy series,
"Hogan's Heroes" (1965-71), was a hit, we're led to think that he lost all sense
of perspective. A photography-enthusiast and notorious hedonist, Crane had his
sexcapades documented by an insidious buddy, John Carpenter, on a then-high-tech
video-recorder. (The Sony brand is prominently displayed.) Living by the motto -
"A day without sex is a day wasted" - these clueless, middle-aged Lotharios were
proud "swingers" until Crane's flamboyant lifestyle cost him all respect within
the entertainment industry. Eventually, he was bludgeoned to death with his own
camera tripod in a motel in 1978. The perpetrator was never convicted but the
script, adapted by Michael Gerbosi from Robert Graysmith's "The Murder of Bob
Crane," leaves no doubt who did it. Directed by Paul Schrader ("American
Gigolo," "Affliction"), this sordid story of the rise and decline of a modestly
talented television actor elicits little sympathy. Greg Kinnear does an amazing
impersonation of the cocky Crane and Willem Dafoe is impressive as his creepy
enabler. Rita Wilson and Rob Liebman give strong support. On the Granger Movie
Gauge of 1 to 10, "Auto Focus" is a depraved, depressing 6. And this tawdry,
turgid saga of self-destruction leaves an aftertaste of profound sadness.
Copyright © 2002 Susan Granger
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