55
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75The PlaylistWarren CantrellThe PlaylistWarren CantrellBob 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.
- 75RogerEbert.comNick AllenRogerEbert.comNick AllenBob 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.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreBut 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.
- 70Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbelePart 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.
- 63Chicago TribuneNina MetzChicago TribuneNina MetzThe 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.
- 58IndieWireKristen LopezIndieWireKristen LopezThis Bob Ross doc isn’t just messy, it one that paints a mixed portrait that’s hard to decipher.
- 50ConsequenceClint WorthingtonConsequenceClint WorthingtonWhat 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?
- 50San Francisco ChronicleChris VognarSan Francisco ChronicleChris VognarThe 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.
- 50The New York TimesLisa KennedyThe New York TimesLisa KennedyThe melancholy result is that the painter with the spectacularly lulling voice, the hallmark ’fro and the liberating kindness remains a mystery; not the brand that’s made millions but the guy who touched millions.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergThe Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergIt’s much closer to the work of its main subject: a bit hurried, inoffensive and ultimately unsubstantial. It’s loosely informative, rarely revelatory and, despite what the title might lead you to expect, never provocative.