Catherine Reviews Ben Steinbauer’s Winnebago Man [DVD Review]

In 1989, a man named Jack Rebney made an industrial video for Winnebago. A collection of outtakes were shot, copied and spread amongst people over a period of 15 years before Youtube allowed for world wide exposure to the tape. The outtakes from the two-week shoot feature Rebney shooting off an endless string of uncontained rage and frustration, berating himself and others with as many swears as possible. This tape weaseled its way into pop culture with fans who found the entertainment and humor unmatched by few other viral videos.

Who is the ‘Winnebago Man’? This is the question that drives documentarian Ben Steinbauer to make this film, chronicling his efforts to find Rebney and the results that follow. It is a slightly problematic but mostly insightful and respectful portrait of a man whose isolation from society comes not from the viral videos, but from his disgust with the world he lives in. The film starts out being broad and then narrows its focus to Rebney. First, there is the history of the video as a precursor to the types of viral video that Youtube would bring. This segues to an all too short segment examining the common theme of humiliation found in viral videos that become popular to the general public. Why do people enjoy watching people be humiliated for their amusement? What of the people who are involved in these videos, whether it is willing or unwilling public exposure? ‘Star Wars Kid’ Ghyslain Raza and ‘Impossible is Nothing’ video resume creator Aleksey Vayner are used as examples of the consequences of public humiliation on this scale.

Steinbauer is ready to categorize Rebney with Raza, Vayner and many others whose leaked videos irrevocably changed their lives. After a long search involving interviews with the original crew of the industrial video shoot and a private detective, Steinbauer finally finds Rebney. He is living on top of a mountain in Northern California, completely secluded from the outside world. He lives in an old cabin and is the caretaker of a fishing resort. He has his books and his dog Buddha and a best friend named Keith who he talks to on the phone every day. After a first meeting which goes all too well, Rebney confesses some time later that he was putting on an act for Steinbauer. In fact, Rebney is very angry and has a lot to say. He hopes the director can be the outlet for that.

The director and the audience assume that he has a lot to say about the infamous tapes. While he was very upset about the tapes leaking, any notoriety he might have surrounding it does not affect him in the slightest. The sense we get of Rebney is one of hopelessness and frustration. All that anger from those outtakes are still there but they are now directed at something far more permanent; the political climate. His anger is constant and primary. He cannot even function in society, choosing to criticize from afar as he looks down from his mountain upon people who he sees as living in a corrupt world. He is extremely well-read and well-spoken when he is not cursing up a storm. He has spent a lot of his time writing a book that examines history, politics, religion and sex. He may come off as a rambling curmudgeonly old man but his resentment is backed by decades of self-studying. Rebney wants to use Steinbauer’s film as a platform for his societal views and in turn Steinbauer wants to use Rebney as a platform for a story that highlights the personal life and history of the man behind the viral video.

Winnebago Man is filled with wonderful moments that Steinbauer catches on camera. His subject is a fascinating one and Rebney’s tough exterior provides many instances of intense conflict and condescension. Seeing Steinbauer navigate through Rebney’s difficult demeanor adds another layer to the film. Their dynamic is rich as we see that everything Steinbauer says is somehow made out to be wrong by Rebney. The filmmaker cannot seem to do anything right by the old man’s standards. It is also a poignant film. While the climax, which takes place at the Found Footage Festival, is a bit gimmicky in design, it does allow Jack Rebney to have a touching revelatory moment if not a complete change in perspective.

There are a few issues I had with Winnebago Man. One of them is that Steinbauer tries too hard to pigeonhole Jack Rebney into the type of film he was set to make. Once he realized that Rebney would not be telling stories of his life crumbling around him from the release of those tapes and that he would not be discussing his personal life, Steinbauer had to reconfigure the story he wanted to tell. This is not the director’s fault but sometimes the cracks show in his efforts to form something new with the luckily rich footage he has. Mostly it works, as Steinbauer’s voiceover narration adds the notion of a personal quest as well as lightly outlining the arc he makes for Rebney. His revelatory moment is made out to be more than it is. He is very much the same person he was when they started filming but now he has a level of respect for the people who adore the tapes as opposed to the assumed imbecilic mental state of his fans.

About midway through the film, we learn that Rebney worked for a news station. He used to be a newscaster but left when the news started becoming personalized and opinionated. This is how he eventually ended up at Winnebago. I feel that there was a missed opportunity here. Rebney was moot about discussing his past on principle but it is doubtful he would have refused to talk about this part of his life. It would allow him to discuss what it was like, his experiences and why he left, which would fall in line with his desire to use Steinbauer’s film as a platform for political diatribe. Both director and subject would get what they want. In any case, it was an aspect of his life that deserved more attention than it got in the documentary.

Winnebago Man can be viewed as a companion piece to another documentary from this year called Best Worst Movie. Both feature subjects whose source of fame is not something to be proud of. Both look at the subjects’ personal response to their ‘fame’ and the current state of their lives. There are very different but distinct arcs for George Hardy and Jack Rebney. Winnebago Man might not be in the top echelon of character driven documentaries but it is a worthy addition that is well worth watching. It may be somewhat flawed but the dynamic between Rebney and Steinbauer as well as the rich character Rebney is, makes this a documentary you should seek out.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10