Synopsis
Bob Ross brought joy to millions as the world's most famous art instructor. But a battle for his business empire cast a shadow over his happy trees.
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Cast
- Bob RossSelf (archive footage)
- Steve RossSelf - Bob's Son
- Vicky RossSelf - Bob's First Wife
- John ThammSelf - Artist and Friend
- Ian BourlandSelf - Assistant Professor, Georgetown University
- Julia FriedmanSelf - Art Historian
- Dana JesterSelf - Bob's Friend
- Doug BlandySelf - Author
- Sally SchenckSelf - Director, The Joy of Painting
- Gary JenkinsSelf - Floral Painter
Recommendations
- 75
The Playlist
Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed isn’t a takedown piece (at least not of Bob), but it isn’t precious about its eponymous subject, either, blending genuine admiration with a healthy dose of introspection that only deepens a viewer’s admiration of the painter. - 75
RogerEbert.com
Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed has a fairly standard talking head and archive video approach, but it has an inspired variation on the common documentary storytelling method of animation or art. - 75
Movie Nation
But as we follow the back and forth of a newly-empowered Britney Spears in battling her father, any documentary that takes up the cause of an embattled public figure, even one long dead, at least leaves us with hope. - 70
Los Angeles Times
Part biopic, part mystery, part exposé, Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed is ultimately a cooled celebration, one eager to acknowledge that gurus are complicated, showbiz is treacherous, and some landscapes hide things. - 63
Chicago Tribune
The documentary is strongest when it simply lets Steve — who resembles his father, minus the poof of hair — sift through his memories. There’s a lot of regret and melancholy there. Admiration too. And legitimate anger at how the Ross name itself is no longer his own. It’s a messy and complicated story. - 58
IndieWire
This Bob Ross doc isn’t just messy, it one that paints a mixed portrait that’s hard to decipher. - 50
Consequence
What the doc explores [is] the divide between the personal and business halves of Bob Ross, and which one should be allowed to occupy his legacy. Is he a face on a logo that sells increasingly kitschy merch of the man? Or is he the father of a son who loves him and wants to determine how he's remembered? - 50
San Francisco Chronicle
The new Netflix documentary Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed, produced by husband-and-wife team Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone, paints a picture of naked opportunism that shattered Ross’ legacy. It’s the story of how a man became an industry, and how his family was gradually, systematically left out in the cold.
