“From the Grab Bag” is written by various members of the DivX team and highlights under-the-radar movies that are available in DivX format.
There are a lot of awesome movies you can purchase and download in DivX format. Do you want to catch up on the Harry Potter films before heading to the theater for the latest adventure? Go for it. Want to get your Iron Man fix? Download away. But what about all those films that don’t have trailers playing during every single commercial break of “Dancing With the Stars”? While browsing around websites such as WB Shop or Film Fresh, I started finding a lot of under-the-radar films that intrigued me.
Last week while perusing Film Fresh, I saw a new documentary titled “Winnebago Man.” My first thought was, “Is this a documentary about THE Winnebago man from youtube?” A quick youtube search yielded this trailer (NSFW language):
After watching that trailer, how can a YouTube-browsing, meme-loving geek like myself NOT watch the full movie? The documentary was a lot of fun to watch. It digs beyond the foul language-riddled outtakes of a 1980’s commercial and unearths a story that is emotionally compelling. I particularly enjoyed the banter between Ben Steinbauer (the filmmaker) and Jack Rebney (the Winnebago man). By the end of the film, it was apparent they had formed a connection (albeit a strange one) through the film-making process. Ben is pushy and straight-forward. Jack is old, crotchety, and foul-mouthed. They deserve each other.
The production value of this film may not be up to par with some of the documentaries that are produced by mainstream filmmakers such as Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock, but that doesn’t inhibit the story in the slightest. If you find yourself looking for a good human-driven story, I highly recommend this documentary.