This movie wasn’t screened for the critics, which is usually a bad sign. The fact that it was getting 25% on Rotten Tomatoes wasn’t such a bad sign, because they have a bunch of idiotic critics (but with such a low number, that was still cause for concern). I figure with comedies, even if it’s bad, I’ll still laugh a few times. And since this was playing at my favorite theatre, the Angelika Film Center, I could grab a burger there, recline the seat, and see what kind of a hot mess Owen Wilson was in this time. Imagine my surprise when I was laughing. A lot.
This is the type of satire I wish they would have done with the Mr. Rogers movie. You see, even though Owen Wilson looks like painter Bob Ross, and paints mountains and trees on a PBS show in Vermont, it’s completely fictional. First time writer/director Brit McAdams deserves credit for so many jokes that landed.
A few of the dopey critics on Rotten Tomatoes had lines like “this movie was like watching paint dry” which is a cliche that doesn’t work, since the picture is anything but boring. The one quote that came closest to nailing it is from a critic who said, “It’s like Lust For Life meets Napoleon Dynamite.”
That’s a great line, but also not accurate (as it’s really just the hair that reminds you of Napoleon Dynamite). This dopey character is more like the Anchorman lead, or someone from Austin Powers who still lives in the ‘60s.
Painter Carl Nargle (Wilson) has been on the same Vermont PBS station for decades. He’s a local celebrity who is gushed over even at stoplights when the person in the car next to him recognizes him. He uses his custom painted orange van (“Vantastic”) with his CB radio and speaker on the roof to talk to people, as well as seduce women. The love of his life, Katherine (played by Michaela Watkins, who I think is one of the most underrated comedic talents working today), still works at the TV station. She subtly looks hurt as she sees him being gushed over by others, or when he takes women into the van. One of those women is Wendy (Wendi McLendon-Covey, who was always great on Reno 911!). There’s also Beverly (Lusia Strus), as well as a new artist in town. Ambrosia (newcomer Ciara Renee) is hired by the producer (Stephen Root, who’s always great in comedic roles) to do another art show after Carl refused to do a second hour. Carl’s livelihood is now threatened, and needless to say, he handles it poorly.
Some viewers might think Carl has his good and bad points and surely the film shows some heart in the third act. I found him to be a jerk the entire time, but I didn’t mind that. It makes you enjoy his comeuppance even more.
Not all of the jokes work. The segment with a Vegan at a fondue place falls flat, with the punchline involving puking (again, over 80% of all movies seem to need a barfing scene). But there were at least five jokes that had me literally laughing out loud in the theatre – a break-up over CB radio, an older floozy who describes sex like riding a bike, an older woman going back to the house of a lover, only to find she went to school with the mom. There’s a funny scene with Carl going all Jackson Pollock on his collection of mountain paintings he’s trying to destroy, and… those are just the ones coming to mind right now. The two jokes that end the movie – one involving a pipe Carl’s not allowed to smoke on TV, and another about what becomes of this artist, are both flat-out brilliant.
My wife, who laughed a few times, claimed she didn’t care for it. She said, “It felt more like a bunch of sketches in a comedy show more than a movie.”
Fair enough. I thought it had a Portlandia vibe that was right up my alley, although I realize this dry humor won’t be for everyone. The Bob Ross estate will surely be furious, as they made his character a complete jerk.
I complained in a movie review 10 years ago, about the gangsters playing a John Denver cassette in their van before going into a big shoot-out. Those types of jokes with cheesy songs are just so played out, but hearing all the John Denver here (along with Dolly Parton’s Coat ofMany Colors), fit the Vermont vibe of the town. And how can you not laugh hearing Exile’s Kiss You All Over or Jerry Reed’s When You’re Hot, You’re Hot (which paired nicely with Carl calling a lover on his CB radio “Tater Hots”).
3 stars out of 5.