#187: Auto Focus

Release Date: October 18th, 2002

Format: DVD

Written by: Michael Gerbosi

Directed by: Paul Schrader

3 Stars

I think the legacy of Auto Focus, Paul Schrader’s film from 2002 about real-life Bob Crane’s descent from sitcom stardom to self-destructive porn addiction, might be a victim of circumstance.

Watching it for the first time tonight, in 2025, it seems to live in the shadow of Paul Thomas Anderson’s bolder, bawdier, better remembered Boogie Nights, released in 1999. Both films depict the rise and fall of a happy-go-lucky guy who becomes increasingly detached, desensitized, and ultimately, alienated from their families. 

Which brings me to another unfair comparison that shades Auto Focus’ legacy, and that is TV’s Mad Men, another show about alienation. Set during the same swingin’ ‘60s era as Auto Focus, Mad Men delves deeper and just as compellingly into many of the same themes. 

Except for pornography, which is an auteurist focus of Paul Schrader that I’ve seen in Taxi Driver (1976) and Hardcore (1979). He seems fascinated by pornography, titillated even, but terrorized by it. It’s an interesting duality. Schrader depicts pornography as dehumanizing, but damn if he doesn’t seem like a horny bastard who likes to watch. 

It’s this inner turmoil from the ex-Calvinist writer/director, and a couple great lead performances from Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe, that makes Auto Focus a worthwhile watch, even if its legacy has diminished a bit over time.