![]() But in Vermont, he's a stud, drooled over even by a young station employee (Lucy Freyer) who forsakes a lifetime of veganism to share a fondue pot with him. With his curly mop, his sandals and sweaters, and his sensitive, new-age homilies, Carl might be mocked in a red state. Paint gets at something real - a brand of manliness that flourishes mainly in lefty enclaves. She wins over Carl's fans and even puts the moves on his ex, Katherine (Michaela Watkins), the station's general manager, with whom Carl may still secretly be in love.Ĭarl is facing competition for the first time in his career, and his midlife crisis is no pretty picture. Overnight, Ambrosia becomes everyone's favorite. While his art is pedestrian at best, his whispery presence has a strange power, and the female staffers at the station flutter over him like groupies.ĭespite Carl's popularity, the station's ratings are tanking, so management hires young, hip artist Ambrosia (Ciara Renée), who actually paints things besides Mount Mansfield, to supplement Carl. We Vermonters can take an extended joke at our expense, right? As long as it's funny.įor nearly 30 years, Vermonters have thrilled to the meditative joys of public TV personality Carl Nargle (Wilson), who takes viewers "to a special place" as he crafts landscapes starring Mount Mansfield. Is Paint set in Vermont because "Vermont" is Hollywood shorthand for "cute, quirky and behind the times"? Now I'm going to go with yes, although writer-director Brit McAdams has assured local interviewers that he has only the greatest respect for our state. (Saratoga Springs, N.Y., got the honors.) Did a Vermont story inspire it? No - the wispy-voiced protagonist is clearly based on Bob Ross, whose PBS show "The Joy of Painting" was filmed in Indiana. ![]() For the past eight months or so, I've been getting nonstop pings about this comedy in which Owen Wilson stars as "Vermont's No. I have a handy Google alert set up to inform me about news stories involving Vermont and film. ![]() Wilson plays a Bob Ross look-alike - in Vermont! - in McAdams' whimsical but airless comedy.
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