Bob Ross passed away nearly 28 years ago, but the painter-turned-TV-personality remains eternally popular thanks to his PBS series, The Joy of Painting. Owen Wilson’s next film, the comedy Paint, is clearly taking its cues from Ross’ life, including his signature hairstyle and a PBS television show that became an art empire. However, the key difference between Wilson’s Carl Nargle and the real Bob Ross is that Carl’s genial personality falls to the side when an upstart threatens everything he’s worked for.
The new trailer for Paint formally introduces Carl’s younger rival, Ambrosia Long (Ciara Renée). Ambrosia has not only supplanted Carl and stolen his show, but she also seems to be making a romantic advance on Carl’s girlfriend, Katherine (Michaela Watkins). And in the face of this professional and personal turmoil, it turns out that Carl just can’t handle the adversity.
This is particularly obvious near the end of the trailer when a scathing critique appears in the local newspaper leading Carl to attempt to steal every copy of the paper just to bury a bad review. Unfortunately for Carl, he’s far too visually distinctive to get away with that petty crime. Everyone knows he’s stealing the newspapers long before he’s even finished.
Wendi McLendon-Covey also stars in the movie as Wendy, with Stephen Root as Tony, Lucy Freyer as Jenna, and Evander Duck Jr. as Rueben. Co-stars include Lusia Strus, Denny Dillon, Will Blagrove, and Ryan Czerwonko.
Brit McAdams wrote and directed Paint, which will get a theatrical release on April 7 by IFC Films. It will stream on IFC at a later date.
