By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ben Steinbauer
Country: united_states
Year: 2010
Running time: 85
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396557/
TC says: “Back in the mid 70s, Jack Rebney was a television producer hired to host a Winnebago sales video. When they finished the video, the outtakes started leaking out, and it seems Jack had a penchant for swearing. This outtake reel made the rounds for year (though i’d never heard of it), and made Jack a star in collector’s circles. One of those collectors was director Ben Steinbauer, and he decided to try and track Rebney down.
“The resulting documentary is a hilarious pastiche of his search for Jack and what happened when he finally tracked him down. Jack first tries to play it off like he knew nothing about it, but the truth comes out later – he was hurt and a bit embittered by the crew members who released the outtakes reel. Ben spends a great deal of time trying to convince Jack that people love him because he’s not a phony, and wasn’t shy about showing his frustration during the taping. Eventually, Jack and Ben became friends, and Jack began to warm up to the idea of making a personal appearance at a screening of the outtakes reel.
“WINNEBAGO MAN is an amusing little film, and both Ben’s passion about Jack, and Jack’s own desire to stay out of the public eye, come together in a winning way that shows that a little venting on camera could make you a reluctant star. Ben never treats Jack like he’s a goof, and for his part, Jack deserves to be treated that way occasionally, but in the end, it all works out. And their journey together is a lot of fun. My Score: 4 cats”