** (Two stars)
I think most people (at least most guys) have enjoyed the droll game of inventing porn titles for famous films—Forest Humps! The Jizz Singer! Hannah and Her Fisters!—but that doesn't mean you should make a feature film out of it. This adult-industry spoof rarely moves beyond that simple conceit. In tracing the fictional career of XXX director Arturo Domingo ("the Kubrick of porn"), this movie lurches from one highbrow-film satire to another (Five Easy Nieces, Children of a Lesser Wad), with precious little interesting story in between. As a parody, Auteur never decides whether it wants to be more Orgasmo or The Player, and ultimately fails to be either self-conscious or slapstick. There are a few good laugh lines, and the climactic send-up of Apocalypse Now (titled, disconnectedly, Full Metal Jackoff) is twistedly fun, but this half-baked effort never finds the comedic G-spot.—Dustin Goot, Web editor
[This is a TONY staff review, written for the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. It is not considered an official review and should not be read as such. Please think of it as a casual impression from a movie-loving friend.]