★★
There is something off about Paint, an eccentric film in which Owen Wilson channels his inner Bob Ross. The premise of the movie is a simple one, interesting enough to string the audience along, but too choppy to keep them engaged. Writer and Director Brit McAdams straddles the line between being truly weird and staying grounded, a flaw that gives Paint no room to grow. It is constantly stuck in limbo, a frustrating identity crisis that hampers an otherwise interesting story.
Carl Nargle (Wilson) is Vermont Public Access Television’s number-one star. Every weekday, hundreds of people gather around their televisions and watch Carl’s hit show, Paint. As he spends his hour painting picturesque landscapes, his fanbase becomes mesmerized. His soothing tone and calm demeanor have almost a super-human effect on the masses. With the station hurting for ratings, his showrunner (and ex-lover), Katherine (Michaela Watkins), decides to add an additional hour of Paint after Carl’s, only this time with a new and fresh artist, Ambrosia (Ciara Renée). Ambrosia’s version of Paint is a fresh take on the hit show, and the public starts to cast Carl Nargle aside.
This story has been told before, a successful artist past his prime struggles to find his glory years. In a way, McAdams perfectly captures the tone and personality of Carl Nargle. Any time Wilson’s character graces the screen, the audience can’t tell if it is 1978 or 2015. This allows the supporting cast to sprinkle in little hints that we are actually living in the present day, and the joke usually lands well.
Although Paint seems to have a lot going for it, the film never ties itself together. There are many moments when McAdams almost crosses the line into absurdity, something that would have been welcome on top of the otherwise dry setting. By getting right up to that point, a lot of the humor leaves the audience wondering, “why?” instead of actually producing any laughs. It’s very clear where McAdams wanted this movie to go, it just never gets there.
For people who grew up watching Bob Ross on Public Access, this is a must-see. It really captures the tone of some of those videos, especially early on, and does a good job satirizing the premise of a “local cable access celebrity.” Yet when the credits roll, viewers will undoubtedly feel like something was missing; Paint has heart, comedy, drama, and romance, but does not do any of these exceedingly well.
