Though it doesn't quite answer all of the questions it raises, Winnebago Man is nevertheless a fascinating, hilarious, and surprisingly poignant look at a geniunely colorful internet celebrity.
Though it doesn't quite answer all of the questions it raises, Winnebago Man is nevertheless a fascinating, hilarious, and surprisingly poignant look at a geniunely colorful internet celebrity.
Jack Rebney is the most famous man you've never heard of - an RV salesman whose hilarious, foul-mouthed outbursts circulated underground on VHS tapes in the 90s before turning into a full-blown Internet phenomenon in 2005. Today, the "Winnebago Man" has been seen by more than 20 million people worldwide, and is regarded as one of the first and funniest viral videos. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer goes in search of Rebney - and finds him living alone on a mountain top, unaware of his fame. Winnebago
Man is a laugh-out-loud look at viral culture and an unexpectedly poignant tale of one man's response to unintended celebrity.
Perhaps the most disturbing issue raised in Ben Steinbauer's fascinating and often hilarious Winnebago Man has to do with the Internet's awesome ability to reduce complex and apparently dangerous behaviour to the level of banal spectacle.
Although we find out a lot about this virtual hermit and develop an admiration for his cantankerous principles, the movie leaves some questions unanswered.
This strange, darkly funny documentary investigates the story of Jack Rebney, a Winnebago salesman who achieved notoriety based on outtakes of a corporate video he shot in the 1980s.
Steinbauer doesn't shy away from the moral queasiness of that arrangement, and that's what gives Winnebago Man a lot of its appeal -- that tension between the considerable laughter it provokes and the questions raised about that laughter.
Not quite what you'd expect. Sort of funny, but also sort of sad.
July 9, 2010
Steve K
Super Reviewer
Winnebago Man is a documentary about Jack Rebney, one of Internet's biggest superstars. Rebney is known more as the Winnebago Man. During the late 8o's he was doing a shoot for Winnebago, and the outtakes of the commercials ended up being a cult phenomenon. Jack Rebney's delivery of vulgarities and obscenities in the
outtakes struck a cord with many people, and people started making copies of the outtakes to friends. It wasn't until the arrival of YouTube that his popularity soared even more. Jack Rebney himself has been surprised at his unwanted attention due to the outtakes. He doesn't see why the video sparked so much popularity. Rebney doesn't seem ashamed with the video, and throughout the film Rebney proves that he's not the angriest man, and he's very humble at times. But also it's very clear that he's got strong political opinions, and he's at time irritated with the filmmakers. But in the end, he's very humbled at how his outtake video ended up cheering up alot of people. The famous outtakes themselves are hilarious and it's no wonder why it's become the most popular viral video ever. If your a fan of the viral video or love documentaries, then I suggest you give this film a viewing. The film uncovers the man behind the video and it answers a lot of questions on the outtakes.
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