Stylish but barely mediocre overall

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Jack Rebney is the most famous man you have never heard of - after cursing his way through a Winnebago sales video, Rebney's outrageously funny outtakes became an underground sensation and made him an internet superstar.I confess that I was not aware of Jack Rebney or the "Winnebago Man" clips from YouTube. Of all the memes out there, this one somehow escaped me. But that in no way lessened my enjoyment of this film, because it was only partially about Rebney and more about Internet infamy, and the lives of those who have been shamed on the Internet. (Though, luckily for Jack, he was more honored than shamed.) I would have liked to know more about "Star Wars Kid", but that could easily spin off to be its own documentary, and possibly a far more fascinating one.

The concept for this documentary was intriguing and filled with promise, and the piece of film that inspired it was not only very funny but mysteriously appealing beneath its surface. While we watch Jack Rebney the RV salesman, we simultaneously feel on the one hand that he sounds like a an angry, overbearing, foul-mouthed, pompous blowhard -- and on the other hand we feel for him being trapped in a horrible, humiliating situation, and appreciate him for colorfully expressing the mountainous frustration that we come to feel along with him. With this documentary, history repeats itself. Jack is placed in just as frustrating a situation, and is just as eloquently, extraordinarily, literately uncouth about it. And that makes it an entertaining film -- inadvertently. In the end, "Winnebago Man" is not a deliberate success, but it's ironically a mesmerizing vehicle for the strangely interesting man that Jack Rebney is in the same way as the corny Winnebago ad that inspired it. And you get the sense that Ben Steinbauer is rightly as irritating to Jack as Tony, the hundred-degree heat, and the flies were in 1989. Steinbauer wants to find the man in the video and make a film about him, but despite this he seems to make no effort to understand him. In fact, he almost seems determined not to understand him. Jack is a literate, opinionated man who wants to express his views about the world. Steinbauer says Jack sent him columns and the draft of a book, but doesn't say anything that even suggests he read them. He says he wants to understand Jack, but asks him quests he specifically doesn't want to answer, and ignored he organic attempts to talk. I can't help but think that more would have been achieved by letting the cameras roll as the subject was allowed to relax and speak his mind. Instead Steinbauer condescendingly tries to drive him to town so that he can buy a video camera (which, owning a computer, I expect he could have already acquired if he wanted it) to post on YouTube (a medium he hates). In the end, there are some moments that consist mostly of what Steinbauer has filmed occurring at a live stage event, and Rebney does get to speak his mind rather insightfully if briefly about the appeal of the video itself. Some points have to be awarded for this being an entertaining film -- but the only credit the filmmaker gets for that is for physically finding an entertaining subject and owning a video camera. His lack of curiosity about the man he finds seems to miss the entire point of this kind of film.

Summary: If you are like me, one of the greatest days of your life was the day you discovered "The Winnebago Man", a compilation of outtakes from a promotional video gone horribly awry. The reason for the brilliance of the video is a man named Jack Rebney, a man who forgot his lines, mercilessly harassed the crew, and commented on the idiotic nature of his own dialogue. After recovering from the epidemic of laughter that swept through the land, America was left with just one question: Who is Jack Rebney? Ben Steinbauer, a documentarian with nobility in his heart and courage in his mind, decided to step up to the plate and take the daunting task of tracking down Mr. Rebney. After multiple Google searches and a visit to a private detective, Steinbauer finally finds the true Jack Rebney, although the results are initially disappointing. A sweet, well spoken old man who lives a life of monk-like solitude in a remote cabin expresses remorse at his coarse language and attitude he adhered to in the past. Steinbauer, seemingly defeated, retreats back home, only to be contacted by Rebney a few weeks later with a startling confession: the innocent Jack Rebney Ben had met before was a charade, and the real Jack was dying to get out. From this point, we begin to see Jack Rebney as he truly is: a bitter, cantankerous, but somehow lovable old man who has an affinity for cursing. Review: Over the next hour, we begin to see a genuine relationship grow between Ben and Jack, and this relationship is easily the strongpoint of the movie. Ben's patience and gentle nature acts as a perfect antithesis to Jack's short-fused attitude and explosive personality. As the two begin to bond, the audience takes a trip through Rebney's mind, finding potential clues as to why The Winnebago Man is the disgruntled, frustrated shell of a man he is now. Although the movie never probes as deep into Rebney's psyche as it ought to, leaving many questions posed at the beginning unanswered, it still provides a fascinating look at a terminally angry man. Although this journey through the mind could end up being dark and depressing due to the somewhat tragic nature of its subject, Rebney throws in enough absurdist quips throughout the movie to keep things light and entertaining, creating the perfect mix of comedy and drama. And yes, the movie is quite funny at certain points (a live appearance by Rebney at a comedy club left me in stitches.) Overall, Winnebago man fails on some level by sidestepping some of the darker elements of Rebney's character, but it more than makes up for it with a great dynamic between the two leads and some genuinely funny moments.

This film petered off about 30 minutes into it. That isn't the worst thing about the movie. That would have to be the Director of the movie. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.This film begins like most documentaries, by giving some context. We are given a short history of Viral Videos and a little info about the Director's experience's watching the Winnebago Man in his youth. This was all very interesting and put together in a not glorious, but sustainable fashion. The Director spends some time looking into how to get in touch with the Winnebago Man, and is unsuccessful at first. We do get to meet the crew which was around during the shoot, which is probably the best part of the movie. Later we see the Winnebago Man and he gives a dishonest view of his opinion of his fame.Its at this point the film heads south. We are treated to another hour of psycho babble (and drama) about the Winnebago Man by the Director. The worst part is the way it is so transparent the Director is trying to use his subject to help out the film instead of trying to document the Winnebago Man as he is. Its kind of funny that he mentions that he taught a class in Austin (which would explain the lack of good films from there).The climax of the film is the Winnebago Man speaking at some "hip" SF show, which shows viral videos. I'm guessing nobody told any of these hipsters about Youtube, as they watch reruns from "America's Funniest Home Videos." At this point the Winnebago Man and his gay counterpart (a character I willfully forgot to mention), go and get some wine from some chic bar and the film shortly ends afterward.This film isn't terrible, its just not very good. The way the Director forces himself into scenes and acts dishonestly towards the audience leaves one with a sense of discomfort. It would have helped if the Director looked at more accomplished film makers like Werner Herzog and tried to make the film in that same vein. Instead we are treated with 90 minutes which gives little more satisfaction than watching a 1 minute viral video.