I feel somewhat guilty (but only somewhat) at the harshness of the title above but, if the cap fits… Bob Ross, of whom I had vaguely heard, made a career on TV by simplistic speed painting that anyone could do/follow on with. His pictures show unpeopled landscapes with mountains/rivers/trees/woods/sky in various combinations and always in quite vivid, often garish shades. They are archytpal chocolate box illustrations, and similar in appeal and aesthetics to Thomas Kinkade. They are wholly unoffensive and wholly forgettable - perhaps a combination of characteristics that IS offensive.
The dramatic title is a little misleading - the story is a not unfamiliar one of sharp-eyed and hard-edged businessp people taking advantage of somewhat naive artists and their heirs and close associates. Essentally, a couple called the Kowalski’s saw the tremendous economic potential of Ross, his work and, most importantly, his name and ensured that they gained fully from all this, at the expense of his heirs and associates.
The story is a grim one and one does feel for the heirs, particularly his son, but the emotions by all are milked, expertly, by the film makers with their use of lingering close-ups, silences while the speakers gathers themselves and occasional OTT music. This also matches the spoken style of Ross himself with its soft, whispering quality and his use of phrases like ‘happy accidents’ and ‘happy little trees’ which peppered his shows and was dounbtless a large part of his appeal.
So, intriguing - although it would have been good to hear from the Kowalski’s whose contribution was limited to a lengthy letter with threatening legal undercurrents.