Watch 'Winnebago Man' Here, Now, Free
In the days before YouTube or viral Internet videos, people were passing around third-rate copies on videotape of the outtakes of a Winnebago commercial featuring one Jack Rebney, whose gift for colorful profanity under pressure was immense. Hearing his outbursts can be oddly uplifting if you're having a bad day yourself. Local filmmaker Ben Steinbauer, intrigued by the lasting popularity of the "Winnebago Man" video, set out to find Rebney and get the whole story behind the videotape in the documentary Winnebago Man.
Winnebago Man premiered at SXSW in 2009 and has enjoyed a fair amount of popularity since then. Don Clinchy calls it "funny and sometimes poignant" in his review. The movie won several prizes on the film-fest circuit, as well as the Austin Film Critics Association award for Best Austin Film in 2010. One of Rebney's catch phrases from the video, "Will you do me a kindness?" turns up frequently in the oddest places ... apparently one of the characters in the recently released movie Crazy. Stupid. Love says it.
If you haven't yet seen Winnebago Man, now's your chance. SnagFilms is making the documentary available to watch online for free for the next two weeks -- until August 19 -- as part of their SummerFest lineup. You can watch the film from the SnagFilms website, on Hulu, on the SnagFilms iPad app ... and I've embedded it below so you don't even have to leave this page. I especially recommend this movie after a difficult day at the office, where you can hear Rebney say all the things you wish you could, and better.