Movie Review

'Paint' is dry and dull despite comedic touches by Owen Wilson-led cast

There are plenty of movies whose meaning can be enigmatic. Sometimes the filmmaker sets out to make an “art film,” where the imagery is often more important than the story. Other times, they tell a story that’s so complex, it’s almost impossible to decipher what the overall message may be.

And then there are films like Paint, which seem straightforward on the surface, but become more puzzling as they go along. As the film begins, Carl Nargle (Owen Wilson) is a beloved painter/TV host at a PBS station in Burlington, Vermont. The crew – comprised mostly of women – at the station fawns over him, and viewers are shown to be enthralled by his supposed brilliance.

His life starts to get shaken up when station manager Tony (Stephen Root) and aspirational producer Katherine (Michaela Watkins) bring in Ambrosia (Ciara Renée) for what is initially a complementary painting show. Slowly but surely, though, the crew and viewers start to transfer their affection to Ambrosia, leaving the long-tenured Carl in a crisis of confidence.

Written and directed by Brit McAdams, the film never makes clear what it’s trying to be. Since it stars Wilson, Root, Watkins, and Wendi McLendon-Covey, comedy seems to be the priority. While there are some funny moments in the film, it is definitely not a laugh riot. Most of the humor is deadpan, with everyone acting in a similar manner to the classic SNL sketch “Schweddy Balls,” but the result is stale and boring.

Nargle is clearly supposed to be based on Bob Ross, but to what end? The blown-out perm on Wilson’s head is a great visual gag, but other than the initial chuckle of recognition, along with emulating Ross’ style of painting “happy little trees,” the purpose is unclear. Nargle is a narcissist who has let his popularity go to his head, an idea that’s antithetical to that of the easy-going Ross, but that’s a thin premise on which to put the entire plot of a movie.

McAdams also tries to make a lot of a rotating series of relationships in the film. Nargle is said to have been with most of the women at the station, but the storytelling around those flings doesn’t always jibe with how they currently act toward him. Ambrosia takes a shine to Katherine, but the approach to them being together is so haphazard that it never lands.

Each of the actors is fine in his or her own way, but none of the characters are so compelling that they elevate the film. Wilson is a skilled comic actor and makes some moments funnier than they would have been otherwise, but he’s not asked to stretch that much. Renée, best known for playing Hawkgirl in various DC Comics TV shows, has a unique energy in the film, but it’s mostly wasted in an odd storyline.

McAdams can never make a compelling argument for the story he’s trying to tell in Paint, and the film suffers because of it. Groupies of Bob Ross and/or PBS programs in general might find a particular pleasure watching it, with everyone else left to wonder why it was made in the first place.

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Paint opens in theaters on April 7.

Photo courtesy of IFC Films

Owen Wilson in Paint.

Bob Ross Paint Movie film movies

Movie Review

Daniel Craig searches for elusive new bond in audacious film Queer

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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