Artist Wayne White, attempting to explain his Rodney Dangerfield-ish treatment by certain critics, observes, “You’re not supposed to entertain people. You’re supposed to make them question their core values and make them re-evaluate their lives . . . and blah-blah-blah-blah-blah [expletive] blah.”
But “Beauty Is Embarrassing,” a documentary about White and his unconventional career, does in fact question core values — namely, why should being funny rate low on the scale of artistic talents?
And White is definitely very funny. The film opens with a rat-a-tat-tat sequence of his deadpan remarks and glimpses of his paintings: thrift-store landscapes that the artist adorns with exuberantly profane phrases.
He hasn’t always been rated for mature audiences. White won three Emmys as a designer and puppeteer for “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.” Those with a high tolerance for the ultimate four-letter word, and a love for eccentrics, will be entertained by both White and his art.