User Reviews

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.

The movie "Paint" has missed the mark with its outdated portrayal of the main character, Carl, played by Owen Wilson. He is so out of touch with modern technology that he doesn't even know what an Uber is or how to use his cellphone. The woman he loved and left, Katherine, played by Michaela Watkins, has been waiting for him for two decades. This only adds to the overall sense of melancholy that encompasses the film. The attitudes and feelings of the film are as antiquated as Carl's wardrobe, leaving me feeling disconnected and disinterested. Only the very talented Stephen Root (plays Tony, Carl's station chief) and the lively Ciara Renée (who plays Ambrosia, Carl's younger and more skilled competitor), manage to bring any energy to the film. Just want to stress the fact that Stephen Root keeps on performing outstanding and is still very much undervalued. The unconvincing flashbacks to his younger self, leave him looking unchanged and uninspired adds insult to injury. Just as the movie, uninspiring! Overall, "Paint" fails to deliver a fascinating story and appealing characters. Its flat approach and outdated attitudes made it difficult for me to connect with the movie. And leaving me feeling unsatisfied and disappointed. The trailer is misleading and disconnected from the movie. This is not the funny Owen I am used to seeing. A 5/10 would suffice here.

...i am sure a lot of people will think this movie is about Bob Ross life, just like i thought so too at the beginning, but it's not. It's a Bob Ross knockoff. The main character Carl Nargle played by Owen Wilson is a fictional character based on Bob Ross, the story is fictional as well so we can say this movie is a parody. Carl Nargle has the same cloud of hair, the same whispery way of speaking, and the same job, painting quaint country vistas on public access TV, but he's not Bob Ross.

I was really disappointed that they just used his character like this, he is an icon and has a lot of fans all around the world!

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.

Britt McAdams' directorial debut "Paint," a joyless 96 (thank you) minutes, is an ill-conceived sendup of Public Broadcasting's artist-in-residence, Bob Ross. It's worth saying, the main character in this paint-by-numbers comedy, Carl Nargle (funny), isn't actually Ross. He is Owen Wilson, by way of Art Garfunkel. Yet like Ross, he paints how-to landscapes on public access television, in Vermont where the locals are holdover oddballs from "Newhart." And like Ross, he has a folksy, on-air style, wears denim a lot, sports a Toni Home Perm, and speaks softly (more seductive than instructive). To everyone's surprise, except his, of course, he is a popular success, especially with women, who seem drawn to him (no pun). In one over-played gag, his artwork makes women orgasm; needless to say, he's discovered the joy of painting. Such is, more or less, the premise here: not much else to hang a smock on, just one joke, and McAdams' screenplay beats the devil out of it.

True to form, Wilson returns to his comic roots to bring off his trademarked persona, the same he's honed over the years on television and in movies, and in movies based on television. A natural clown, he selects from a grab bag of expressions, ticks, and quirks. His schtick, one might say, is a limited palette, like a typical Ross landscape: familiar, yet naive. He's also somewhat attractive--from a distance--and can be humorous if given the opportunity, which this movie fails to do, resorting only to the tried and true, as when Carl scrambles to steal newspapers with bad reviews, a bit that's been done before (I think Berle did it).

Carl is typical of Wilson's cast of characters: a self-deluded, man child, fumbling his way through life, could be certifiable, yet laughable, affable--a joke, really. Bob Ross was something of a joke, too, perhaps, but, while the joke was about him, unlike Carl, it was never on him.

My interest in this movie comes from watching the real guy when I was a kid right after Barney and friends, but when I looked up his name, Bob Ross, as it turns out this is not a biopic.

Owen Wilson tells a joke exploiting Ross' Posthumous fame on the internet that pokes fun of the concept that Joy of Painting consist of 40-year-old footage watched by like 3 or 4 generations who watched it as if though they were the 1st despite how outdated his fashion sense was for all the generations. Adding to the joke is the relevant concept of how fulfilling and addicting being famous to a handful of people (in this case the locals who watch Wilson's character on PBS somewhere in Maine) can make a person feel. An interesting idea about the levels of selling out vs. Being true to your art.

It was funny when I saw the trailer and I thought Wilson was playing Bob Ross and that the Joy of Painting guy used his statis as an artist to get laid. Its less funny now that I know it's not Bob Ross. I see what they are trying to do but it was not funny. Paint was good for some obvious puns that made me giggle but no solid laughs.

It was supposed to be one of those quirky films that made fun of the mundane but it was mundane without being interesting. It was very not interesting.

Not worth seeing.

I get it, the producer for this film got an idea to make a "Bob Ross movie", but then couldn't get the family's permission to do it, so we got this Bob Ross-cosplay by Owen Wilson instead.

First of all, when the heck does this film take place?! They mentioned the year 1993 as being "a long time ago", yet everyone owns tvs and VCRS from the 1970's. Yet a character is also wearing "Juicy" clothing, which is definitely 2000's+, and someone mentions their cellphone. What?

Again, the screenplay was probably written to be in the 1970's, but then nobody bothered to stick to it.

Speaking of that, this has got to be one of the most poorly written screenplays put to film that I've ever seen. The film "cheats", constantly. The new painter falls in love with the lead's ex, but they never show a real relationship on screen at any time. The women kiss...once, and then suddenly it's a LTR?

The characters themselves are incredibly unlikeable and the acting was poor. The woman with the hat couldn't speak an intelligible word the entire way through, and yet suddenly she's dating the new woman? How? Why?

Nothing makes sense in this film. It's all nonsense. Avoid.

This movie is a humorous "character study", poking fun at a certain nostalgic way of viewing the world from someone who personifies the 1970's with male expectations of how they ought to be treated by women.

My husband and I watched this movie with trepidation after reading all the negative ratings. And I have to say this is a perfectly fine movie.

I think the negativity is being generated by several factors:

1) People were expecting a biography of Bob Ross, and were deeply frustrated that this movie wasn't that, and/or

2) fewer people have a sense of humor these days, and are unable to understand subtle or mocking humor, and/or

3) A large % of people have ADHD and can't deal with anything slower than a video game or movie made from a Marvel comic strip.

So... if you don't have a sense of humor, don't understand jokes, or only have a 10 second attention span -- DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE. This movie wasn't made for you.

For the rest of us, especially older viewers, this is quite funny, ironic, and silly. Because, really, all one needs is a peaceful and secluded A-frame in the woods...on a lake with your Honey. And that in itself is stereotypic of an older era.

Why would anyone give the green light for Owen Wilson to defecate on the good name of Bob Ross?

Why would Owen Wilson think he's someone that should play a fictional version of a beloved artistic influence from modern history?

Who would even want to see anybody portray Bob Ross in this pathetic attempt at whatever stupid idea was thought up to concieve whatever this abomination of a movie has set out to be?

Hollywood haven't had a decent original thought in years, and now it's aiming to tarnish historic people's legacies with atrocious fictional storylines that nobody ever asked for.

Owen Wilson should hold his head down in shame for taking a pay check for making this film.

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.

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.

PAINT is as bad as you imagined it might be. It's miscast. Owen Wilson does nothing more to disappear in this role as Carl Nargle (Bob Ross) than lower his voice and cover his head with a cosplay curly fro. Nargle's supposed to be from Vermont. All you hear is Owen's Dallas drawl. You never see the character he was supposed to be portraying -- you only see Owen from Night at the Museum and Wedding Crashers. This movie wishes it was that memorable and funny.

Every single joke in this movie falls flat. The screenwriters even found a way to make comedienne Wendi McClendon-Covey unfunny. And there's so much dead air when a joke is hurled -- a long beat begging for the laugh. It was uncomfortable to watch.

Flashbacks are overused to tell a large part of the story that is both irrelevant and inconsequential. Worse, the de-aging used in the flashbacks was so unnecessary and disturbing to the natural flow of the story.

The entire movie felt like a dress rehearsal that should've never been filmed -- let alone released to theaters instead of going straight to streaming.

"Paint" is permanently etched onto my Top 10 Worst Movies of 2023 List.

We are huge fans of movie theaters coming back to life, and some movies absolutely must be seen on the big screen. But there is a place for watching movies at home so one can quickly assess the quality of a movie and move on, redeeming lost opportunities in our lives. 20 minutes of juvenile sexual innuendos was way too much to take. Writing was awful, acting was extremely flat and one dimensional, the running joke held no humor, and there was not a single likeable character in the movie. We don't walk out of movies often, but this movie was so inane I'm really surprised the studio even bothered to release it to theaters. I'm not a huge Owen Wilson fan, but this is the worst thing we've ever seen him do. Stay at home, watch paint dry, and you'll be miles ahead in your life. Absolutely do not waste your time or money for this movie.

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.

IN A NUTSHELL: Carl Nargle, Vermont's #1 public television painter, is convinced he has it all: a signature perm, custom van, and fans hanging on his every stroke - until a younger, better artist steals everything (and everyone) Carl loves.

The film was written and directed by first-time director Brit McAdams. The film is a long time coming, as it was put on the Blacklist in 2010 for the year's most-liked, unproduced screenplay.

THINGS I LIKED: I admit that I never saw the trailer for this film before watching it, so I assumed it was a biopic of the famous Bob Ross who hosted the popular TV show "The Joy of Painting" on public TV. It's definitely NOT but certainly inspired by it.

The cast includes Owen Wilson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Michaela Watkins, Stephen Root, and more.

Owen Wilson explained in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! That he really wanted to use a line in the movie that he once heard actor Sean Penn say. The line is "When's the last time you heard somebody say something that interesting?" Owen Wilson used it when his character is sitting in a forest, listening to birds chirping.

Filming was done in Albany, New York.

The movie celebrates the love and creation of artistic communication.

There is a lot of subtle, quirky humor, although not all of it lands.

There is an entertaining scene when Carl Nargle tries to destroy all of his artwork by angrily splashing paint all over the canvases, resulting in another lovely piece of art. Cute.

I laughed out loud when old technology was used to censor a pipe out of a video. We sure have come a long way since then.

The film does a good job illustrating obsession and passion. What we focus on every day can control us and even blind us.

Keep watching during the final rolling credits for a bonus scene and some entertaining artwork.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: While the main character is inspired by Bob Ross, the movie is not based on facts and seems a bit disrespectful to him, honestly.

The movie spends way too much time painting the picture of a defeated man who takes forever to make a change in his life.

The film also spends way too much on who is sleeping with whom.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: A lot of suggestive conversations Two women kiss. It's understood that they have intimate relations.

Lots of cigar smoking A man takes drugs.

!

Nothing gets my goat more than an adaptation scripted by someone without a sense of humour, any talent of their own or any sense of focus or point to a movie especially when it could have spiked curiosity to the current generation if done properly.

Bob Ross, a talent around the world, whose reputation is sullied by a moron script writer and an idiot prat actor.

This film portraits Bob Ross' artistic style and presenting talent in much the same way that Jonas Salk's curing of the now non-existent Polio was just dabbling in a bit of curing.

Pointless use of film and 25 minutes of my time.....

Owen Wison on the somewhat cheesy cover drew me into this, otherwise I would have let this one drift by as another Hallmark standard film. The reviews on here did not set my pulse racing, but decided to give it a try on a rainy Wednesday teatime.

And I loved it. There are well crafted characters, each convincingly portrayed by familiar faces working with an amusing and gentle script. There are no baddies present. Gentle comedy, with more than a handful of laugh out loud moments, which usually come by way of a nudge than a sledgehammer. Who could tell that a slowly emerging TV set could be (eventually) funny?

So yet another marmite movie, hate it?...move onto the next, or come back to it when in a more Zen mood maybe?

This film is set in Burlington, VT but not a single location looks even remotely like anything you would see in Vermont. It was actually filmed in Saratoga Springs, NY. The Burlington Museum of Art is not even a real place. I watched this at the Merrill Roxy in Burlington, VT. Besides the location issues, the movie was incredibly disjointed and random. They keep flashing back to 22 years ago and there are absolutely no stakes. The acting and sets are cheap and kind of hilariously bad. I found myself cracking up at scenes that were not supposed to be funny. I am just overall really surprised how bad this movie was. Best review that I saw was "It felt like an SNL skit that was stretched out way too long and made very poorly".

In slightly quirky character dramedy "Paint" Owen Wilson's great as a moderately talented soft-spoken painter who's quite the celebrity in his small Vermont town thanks to his cheesie but nice, safe & cosy painting show on the struggling local PBS channel run by his ex-gf Michaela Watkins and Stephen Root. But when bright new younger painter Ciara Renée arrives, he's quickly pushed aside, forcing his fragile ego to face some home truths. Wilson's character, hilariously stuck in the Seventies (clothes, music, hair, technology, etc) is the key draw - but all performances are good, adding to what's a terrifically solid debut for writer / director Brit McAdams. Nicely done.

Carl Nargle (Owen Wilson) is the popular host of a painting show on PBS Burlington in Vermont. Due to a need for more ratings, his boss Tony (Stephen Root) hires Ambrosia (Ciara Renée) to do a second painting show after Carl. He starts feeling jealous and threatened by Ambrosia's rising popularity. His ex-girlfriend Katherine (Michaela Watkins) is his producer.

I thought this was going to be a biopic of Bob Ross. It's actually a spoof of a Bob Ross like character. It takes a second to adjust to the premise. It's mildly humorous, but Bob Ross fans must be angry with this. This guy has issues and they are not all funny issues although I do like Owen Wilson. My suggestion is that he be a second rate Bob Ross in a world where Bob Ross already exists. It would be funnier and it wouldn't annoy Bob Ross fans. This needs to be wackier. With Wilson as the lead, I am invested in his character and his progression. The general concept does need some rethinking.

Writing this review for a movie with Owen Wilson in it could quite possibly be one of the saddest things I've ever done...in my life. Owen Wilson is hands down one of my favorite actors. If he is in the movie I'm going to watch it. Does that make me crazier than a road lizard? Maybe, just maybe.

The pace of the movie? Slow. The dialogue of the movie? Slow and inadequate. The plot of the movie? Could have been so much better and that's where this review really and I mean really hurts. If you're going to pay homage to the great Bob Ross, then do it. Don't make a half-hearted seemingly low budget knock off. The great Bob Ross deserves that at a minimum.

The cast of the movie? Some incredible talent in this movie. Not just Wilson, but the entire ensemble is loaded with the gift to act. It's a shame and almost an insult to the cast the plot was vacant.

Something I loved about the movie? The songs. John Denver, Gordan Lightfoot, Heart, Dolly Pardon and Kris Kristofferson. Great choices

I'm sorry Owen, there was just no "WOW" in this one.

I was really going into this movie hoping to be taken somewhere and to be inspired but all this movie is just bashing a great artist and showing all the worst parts. Apparently this is supposed to be a satire and nothing about this is funny. Taking a legend and stomping him into the ground. Please don't watch this movie if you want to be greatly uninspired. This should have been a celebration of a great artist but instead is a mockery and an insult to someone who brought a lot of joy to a lot of people in this world. Long story short don't watch this movie. It's bad painted all over. It's trying to be something that it's clearly not but then also pretending to not be based off the person it's clearly supposed to be inspired about. Just a waste of something that could have been great!

From "Reel Tunez, the Radio Show All About the Movies" (7/9/23): "Paint", starring Owen Wilson

Yawn! Really.. not a good movie. First, crank it up because half the movie is spoken in whispers. What a total let-down for what it COULD have been. The writing of the movie itself was WEAK.. at best! The script was previously awarded "the least likely script to be produced". It shouldn't have been. The character that Wilson plays resembles Bob Ross (of PBS) and he paints, but that's the end of any connection.

So unfortunate that the script was poor because the premise had so much potential to be great.

OMG.. so much inconsistency on the time frame and making that part make sense. Music soundtrack is 70's. Reference to Uber and Dancing with the Stars even though, in theory, it takes place in the 80's (probably). A little "realism" in just making a movie is nice (there is nowhere that a control room is IN the studio.. AND typically there are some wires going to the switcher's inputs if you are going to be switching stuff). It's called "attention to detail" that just adds a little to the movie. Otherwise a bunch of high school kids could have made it easily (with the lack of continuity and a touch of realism).

I will add one caveat. Watch past the beginning of the credits for a little "art inside joke" (if you know artists, you'll get it).

On a 1- 10 scale, I'd give it a 4.0. Keep in mind that my 1-10 scale has "probably worth a watch" at a 5 and up.. though a 5 wouldn't be a great movie (but might be worth watching). It's not too often I give such a low score, but this movie STUNK.