Paint

Greetings again from the darkness. You might wonder how a low-key painter becomes ubiquitous, evolving into the source of pop culture references in everything from "Saturday Night Live" to "Family Guy" to recent horror film SMILE. Bob Ross hosted "The Joy of Painting" on public television from 1983 until 1994. His soft-spoken manner and ability to connect with the audience while finishing a painting in 30 minutes drew in many dedicated viewers and turned him into an unlikely celebrity (as did the internet). Writer-director Brit McAdams uses Bob Ross as inspiration for his first feature film.

Though it's certainly not a profile or biography of Ross, Owen Wilson's portrayal of Carl Nargle is part tribute and part caricature, and it seems that McAdams wanted to go the comedy route, despite most gags and punchlines landing as softly as Carl Nagle's signature sign-off, thanking viewers for finding that "special place.". Whereas Ross' whispery vocal seemed soothing, Wilson's is kinda creepy. The comedy never really lands for a few reasons, but mostly because we don't much care for Carl Nargle and his out-of-touch ego and misogyny ... although this isn't the fault of Wilson, who does his best with what he's given.

Carl Nargle's (a fictional character) painting show has been a long-time fixture on the Vermont PBS channel where he regularly creates landscapes featuring Mount Mansfield. His loyal audience ranges from the elderly at a senior citizen center to the frequenters of a local dive bar to the women drawn to Carl's calm nature and fold-out bed in the back of his custom van. The latter group includes his ex, Katherine (a criminally underutilized Michaela Watkins), who is also the program manager, and Carl's assistant Wendy (Wendi McLendon-Covey). His newest interest is the young intern Jenna (Lucy Freyer), who seeks to be the next to receive the gift of a painting, which Carl gives to each conquest. But times are changing for Carl. Station Manager Tony (Stephen Root) needs a ratings boost and seizes the opportunity by hiring Ambrosia (Ciara Renee) to bring in new painting blood. There is more to the competition between Carl and Ambrosia than painting and ratings and ego ... it extends to Katherine, generating an entirely new dynamic.

The film has a lackluster feel to it. While some would-be intriguing topics are broached, none of them are explored to the point of creating any real interest. As for the comedy, there is no energy or sharpness. It comes across as believing many punchlines and situations are funnier than they really are. Everything is just a little off ... doesn't quite work as comedy, satire, self-discovery, or drama. To top it off, the timeline is confusing. While no cell phones are present, it never gives off a strong enough vibe for us to place the era. There is simply no joy in this painting.

Opens in theaters on April 7, 2023.

What a dull drab for a wonderful opportunity. The director really fell flat and didn't deliver on story or character development. Mostly felt contrived with very little substance outside a few bits that are to indicate who this faux bob ross is as a character. If I had to summarize this film beyond that I would say they really let Owen down on this one. The cover image alone gets you excited, as if to say this is Owen's come-back piece. Instead he got burned and had to do what he could with a script that felt as if it was subjected to writer's block in the first few paragraphs of act one. All in all I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone.

I see how many people hate this movie and I was hesitant to watch Paint because of it, but I thoroughly enjoyed this comedy. I love the aesthetics of the log cabin soft rock side of the 70s and was fed a steady diet of PBS as a small child in the 80s. This was so relaxing to watch. Plenty of Dolly Parton and John Denver to listen to at the Cheesepot Depot.

I'm not a huge disciple of Bob Ross, though I do respect his memory, so I'm also not angry about a comedy making fun of a soft-spoken ladies man with flowered lapels and a white man afro. I really cannot understand being that upset about satire that was built around a certain type of 70s guy not necessarily Bob Ross himself, but okay.

This is one of those films I would watch again just because I found it strangely comforting.

It's a well-intentioned movie that does have some interesting ways that it goes about delivering its messages about valuing what's important in life (especially towards the film's ending). And there were a handful of jokes that did get a good laugh out of me.

Unfortunately, that's about it as far as positives go. Bland by-the-numbers direction, shallowly-written characters, emotionally disconnected performances, and very little actual conflict make Paint an exceptionally boring film for the most part.

It takes far too long for the story to get to its most interesting parts, and for the better part of the first hour I was left wondering when the story was going to start.

I never understood what Owen Wilson's totally-not-Bob-Ross character really wanted or needed until the film's end, and even then it doesn't feel earned.

Every character and plot point is only shown at its very surface level, never giving you much reason to get invested in anything being presented. If I don't know anything about these people or events, why should I care? So I didn't care, and now I will never think about this movie again.

Almost walked out and I should have. Since they tease a Bob Ross movie and never delivering is akin trying to get drunk on near beer. Somehow this movie is set in the 1980s and today. The plot is as predictable as a paint by numbers project.

The only part of the movie worth noting is that Owen Wilson does look like Bob Ross and his hair is something to behold. Sadly, in this movie his knock off impersonation is flat and every supporting character are paper thin and forgetable.

I give credit to the promo trailer team, from that it looks like an interesting movie. How this movie ever received a green light is shocking and the fact people got paid for making it is criminal.

Do yourself a favor and pass on this movie.