Winnebago Man
Kino International | Release Date: July 9, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
89
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Cast aside any preconceived expectations you might have regarding this documentary and remember simply this: Winnebago Man is one of the best films you're going to see all year. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Ultimately, a heart in the film to go with Rebney's considerable bile. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
An intriguing look at the effects on one man's life; whether they're worth the cost is something Steinbauer leaves up to us. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This engrossing documentary widens to consider the phenomenon of viral videos and the humiliation they can bring to their sometimes unsuspecting victims. Read full review
80
VarietyEddie Cockrell
A curious young helmer tracks down the profanity-spewing subject of a two-decade-old viral video with results at once scabrously funny and uncomfortably poignant. Read full review
80
NPRIan Buckwalter
The director wants him to engage his "audience," but Rebney -- as misanthropic as one would expect of a man who lives alone in a remote rural cabin -- only wants to talk about politics. Read full review
75
Washington PostRachael Saslow
Entertaining and thoughtful documentary. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
What this film is really about is how interconnected we all are, like it or not, on the Internet, and how alluring and alarming this can be. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Although we find out a lot about this virtual hermit and develop an admiration for his cantankerous principles, the movie leaves some questions unanswered. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Steinbauer's eagerness to draw information--and, let's face it, exclusive new clips--out of his recalcitrant subject borders on exploitation at times, but the smart, cagey Rebney has an agenda of his own that Steinbauer can't entirely control or define. The documentary gives him a forum to be his funny, irreducible self, which is a luxury the accidentally famous are rarely afforded. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
A highly entertaining first-person documentary . Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Rebney's good-natured calm and apparent indifference to his Internet notoriety initially foils the filmmaker. Hoping to re-create the original clip reel, Steinbauer is nonplussed and abashed. Was it all an act--or is this? Pay your money and find out. Read full review
70
MovielineMichelle Orange
An earnest and occasionally poignant attempt to penetrate Rebney's potent man-on-fire image and explore the impact of becoming an Internet sideshow. Read full review
70
SalonSam Adams
Tracking down Rebney proved to be no easy task. But Steinbauer found him, living on a mountain in California, and spends much of the film trying to get Rebney to reckon with his unsought celebrity, which Rebney had only recently become aware of. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
A film that starts out as a gimmick but winds up as a genuinely touching character study, though one does wonder whether that is what the filmmaker initially intended. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert Abele
Whenever Rebney gets to be Rebney -- be it insulting, sweet or wearily perturbed -- "-Winnebago Man shows a full tank of irascible charm. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJohn Anderson
People might have laughed at the old Jack Rebney, but they were laughing at themselves as well. And counting their blessings. Everyone has a cranky side. Unlike Mr. Rebney's, it isn't usually gawked at by 20 million people. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark Feeney
The only real tension the documentary has, once Steinbauer has his first meeting with Rebney, is whether the filmmaker is celebrating him more than exploiting him. Read full review
60
Time OutDavid Fear
What started as an underground goof ended up becoming a fascinating foul-mouthed curio; though it aims for profundity, Winnebago Man seems destined to suffer the same fate. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A small, mildly entertaining documentary. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineMark Keizer
The movie is really best enjoyed as a fun little addendum to a profanity-laden chapter in New Media history. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleAmy Biancolli
A little movie with a lot of hilarious swearing and an unexpectedly big heart. Read full review
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