My Review of "Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed"

Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed is one of the latest Netflix documentaries to come out in 2021. I have to admit I don't know much about Bob Ross other than that PBS tv series he had for so many years. I remember how mellow and cool he was during the tapings of the show. When I saw the words "Betrayal" and "Greed" I was instantaneously intrigued.

The documentary starts innocently enough. It talks about where Bob Ross had come from and where he got his inspiration for art. I never knew that he was a veteran and that he picked up art at a later age in his life. Seeing his gradual progression was inspiring as he was inspired by fellow artists to do what he eventually fell into.

There's a decades of Bob's life that they reveal to the world. Some of the pictures they have of Bob are unrecognizable because he doesn't have the famous hair and beard that we know him for. I relate it to seeing pictures of your parents when they were young. They look totally different and yet you know it's them. Those pictures really threw me for a loop.

This film also talks about why he portrayed himself on his show the way that he did. Who knew there were so many facets and reasoning behind the way he chose to depict his on camera persona. Although it was an on camera persona, his friends and family insist that this was pretty much the genuine Bob Ross. At least that's true. I would have been horrified if I found out that he was a massive jerk.

Betrayal and greed comes into play gradually in the film and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Bob. However, there is a certain situation that Bob got himself that was considered a betrayal.

The guy didn't have the easiest life. He had multiple wives and a lot of drama behind the camera. Much of the drama came at the worst times of his life and they really paint certain people in a negative light. Again this is one side of the story and I'm sure there's another side as well but this one side of the story just feels too genuine to be false.

Unfortunately for the filmmakers there weren't a ton of people that were available to give their side of the story for fear of repercussions. I had no idea how crazy these individuals were in dealing with Bob and his family. It's really unfortunate because it seemed that Bob wanted to live a simple life. He had simple philosophies that he lived by and things just got overly complicated because of money.

Of the people that were able to give their own accounts of the situation were Bob's son Steve, Bob's friends and art historians/aficionados. It's just doesn't look good for the other party when all of their stories connect with one another and the party in question doesn't want to give their side of the story.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty fascinating documentary. Gladly I can report that Bob's reputation isn't fully tarnished in this film. They really do a deep dive into the life and times of Bob Ross and for any Bob Ross fan this is a must see. I'm not a die hard Bob Ross fan and I was still captivated by the story. It was very well put together and entertaining so I have to give this film an 8 out of 10. It's the usual story of how money ruins relationships and people.