The Color Wheel

Released May 18, 2012

1h 23m

Comedy

Romance

List

79%

Tomatometer

28 Reviews

56%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

J.R. and her younger brother, Colin, bicker and fight but finally bond after being pushed away by everybody in their lives.

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Critics Consensus

The Color Wheel takes audiences along for a darkly entertaining ride, getting a surprising amount of mileage from utterly unlikable central characters along the way.

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A.A. Dowd

Time Out Chicago

Alex Ross Perry's The Color Wheel begins as a scrappy, antagonistically funny road comedy and ends as something altogether stranger.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 14, 2012

Full Review

Jeff Shannon

Seattle Times

"The Color Wheel" partially recalls the scathing audacity of "The Graduate" some 45 years ago.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 5, 2012

Full Review

Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

You might not "like" Perry's movie, but it's hard to deny the forensically assured sensibility at work.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 7, 2012

Full Review

Natalia Winkelman

Vague Visages

Balancing wit with authenticity, Perry permeates each of his entries with an ethos of bourgeois malaise that he sketches with both mockery and sympathy.

Mar 25, 2024

Full Review

C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

Alex Ross Perry has defined himself as one of the more exciting new directors with The Color Wheel.

Rated: 8.1/10

Jun 29, 2019

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Perry's film proves he's a unique voice in the American independent scene, and his latest film should give you something to smirk about.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 27, 2019

Full Review

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Audience Member

I'd like to see Carlen Altman directed by someone who knows what the hell they are doing.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

nefasto r

Funny moments entangled with weird and disturbing bits will keep you company in this very interesting and peculiar indi movie. A small road trip that you do not want to miss. Great job of Alex Ross Perry both in acting and writing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

cinegeek.de Our Daily Stream: The Color Wheel. Zum Kinostart und zu unserem DVD Start von Queen Of Earth! - Alex Ross Perry - mögen muss ihn nicht, den Meister des zynischen Kinos, ignorieren kann man den Filmemacher aus Brooklyn aber auch nicht. Im Mumblecire Stil erleben wir hier den Road Trip eines abscheulichen Geschwisterpaares -vielleicht sogar des unsympathischsten der ganzen Filmgeschichte. Der Regisseur selbst spielt Colin, ein Mitzwanziger, der sich selbst aufgegeben hat. Er lebt zusammen mit seiner Freundin unter einem Dach mit den Eltern. Erstaunlich, wie offen die Freundin Colin nicht liebt. Er pflegt einen rassistischen Humor, den niemand teilt und über den nur er selbst lachen kann. Colins Schwester J.R. (Carlen Altman, die Co-Autorin) ist genauso abstossend. Eine Narzistin, die erst mit zehn Jahren das Lesen lernte und von einer TV Karriere träumt. Ihren Freund hat sie gerade verlassen und nun bittet sie Colin um Hilfe. Perry geniesst nun die Situation, sein Geschwisterpaar der Welt auszusetzen, die noch grausamer ist als die Beiden. Das ist es, was seinen Film ausmacht: Schadenfreude. (Dazu gibts unsere Film List "Indie vs. Indiewood" auf cinegeek.de

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A consistently funny road trip, The Color Wheel showcases Alex Ross Perry's established writing talent, while providing non-stop laugh-out-loud moments that have made the movie a personal favorite of mine.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of the funniest comedies of the decade.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Carlen Altman and Alex Ross Perry give enjoyable performances and the film is at its best when the screen is left to just the two of them. Perry's film is very much a victim of the limited budget, but there is just enough manic energy from he and his leading actress to bump the entire film far above where one expects it to be. In many ways "The Color Wheel" is a charming movie about two very unlikeable and annoying people. The unpleasantness of this road trip is the key reason that makes it worthwhile. You would not want to hang out with these two bickering siblings, but watching them is surprisingly fun.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

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Alex Ross Perry

Director

Carlen Altman

JR

Bob Byington

Professor Neil Chadwick

Kate Lyn Sheil

Julia

Anna Bak-Kvapil

Kim Thompson

Ry Russo-Young

Zoe

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Synopsis

J.R. and her younger brother, Colin, bicker and fight but finally bond after being pushed away by everybody in their lives.

Director: Alex Ross Perry
Screenwriter: Alex Ross Perry, Carlen Altman
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 18, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 13, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $17.5K
Runtime: 1h 23m

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