“Paint” (2023) is an upcoming American comedy film by Brit McAdams that revolves around the life and television adventures of Carl Nargle, a local celebrity painter from Vermont who has been hosting a number-one painting show on television for near about thirty years. The character of Carl Nargle, especially his appearance and painting style, bears a striking resemblance to Bob Ross, the real-life television painter and presenter on whose personality the character is based. Moreover, as the trailer goes, it is a story of rivalry, where a younger and more energetic painter, Ambrosia (played by Ciara Renée), is hired by the station. She comes in and conquers everything and everyone Carl holds dear. The film is set to release in American theaters on April 7, 2023. This Owen Wilson, Wendi McLendon-Covey starrer, also features other prominent film and television personalities like Michaela Watkins, Ciara Renée, Lucy Freyer, Stephen Root and Luisa Strus.
The trailer opens with a stroke of Carl Nargle’s brush and him explaining his goal to his television audience: that he wants to help get what’s inside one’s imagination ‘splashed’ onto the canvas, which, according to him, is harder than ‘rocket science.’ Nargle’s voice is known to possess somewhat of a character of its own, distinguishable by its captivating, soothing, whisper-like quality, which helped him capture audiences all over Vermont. His artistry is one of flamboyance and charisma, which has made him quite popular among the ladies. Nargle follows the direction of Impressionism in his artistic venture, deriving his inspiration from nature and creating romance on the canvas with the warm embrace of greenery. But all comes crashing down when the station he works at hires a new and perhaps ‘better’ painter for a new show on television called “Paint with Ambrosia.” As is visible in the trailer, Nargle loses his cool when he feels his ‘territory’ has been threatened and is seen throwing paint all over his wall of paintings in frustration and anger, although he refuses to admit it and tries to maintain a calm demeanor. All this adds to the flavor of the comedy and enhances the flair of the plot construction that viewers are so eager to experience. The whole predicament of Carl Nargle is portrayed with an element of humor, with Owen Wilson really hitting it out of the park, juxtaposing the comic element with a complex characterization, which is no easy task.
The film is based on the screenplay “Paint,” written by the director himself, which was featured on the Black List annual survey of the most popular unproduced screenplays of 2010. Brit McAdams has previously been known for works like “Katt Williams: American Hustle” (2007) and “Tosh.0” (2009–2020).
Owen Wilson stars as the eccentric Carl Nargle in this comic pseudo-biographical film and has certainly raised the viewers’ expectations with his performance, as seen in the trailer. Wilson is chiefly known for his portrayal of comic characters and has starred in such films as “Zoolander” (2001), “Starsky & Hutch” (2004), “You, Me, and Dupree” (2006), and “The Internship” (2013). Yet some of his most memorable films as claimed by his fans are “Marley and Me” (2008) and the “Night at the Museum” films (2005–2014). He has even lent his voice to the characters of Lightning McQueen in the “Cars” films, Coach Skip in “Fantastic Mr.Fox” (2009), and the titular character Marmaduke in “Marmaduke” (2010). Wilson has been recently known to have played the role of Mobius in the Disney+ series “Loki” (2021). Wendi McLendon-Covey is an American actress who began her career on Comedy Central in a series called “Reno 911!”. She was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Television Award for her role as Beverly Goldberg in “The Goldbergs” (2013).
Ciara Renée is no stranger to the spotlight when it comes to acting, owing to her role as Elsa in “Frozen” (a Broadway production). She has even starred as Hawkgirl in DC’s “Legends of Tomorrow,” “Arrow,” and “Flash.” In Brit McAdams’ upcoming film, “Paint,” she is to play the role of Carl Nargle’s nemesis, Ambrosia. Stephen Root is a prolific American actor and comedian who is famous for his roles in “NewsRadio” (1995), “Office Space” (1999), and “Dodgeball” (2004). Michaela Watkins plays the character Katherine in “Paint.” She first rose to fame with her featured role in “Saturday Night Live.” Her most notable appearances on screen are in “Trophy Wife” (2013–14), “Ibiza” (2018), “Brittany Runs a Marathon” (2019), and “The Way Back” (2020).
It is surely an audacious venture on the part of Brit McAdams to have chosen a pop-culture icon like Bob Ross to satirize in a film loosely modeled after his life. The film promises to be filled with drama and packed with comedy. The release of the trailer has piqued the curiosity of film and art lovers alike, and now there is little to do but wait for April 7 to find out if the film really has done justice to its subject.
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