Ed's Review Dot Com

Bear Media, Field Guide Media

Jack Rebney, Ben Steinbauer, Keith Gordon, Nick Prueher

The angriest man in the world!   Jack Rebney was hired by the Winnebago company to shoot a sales video at the end of the 80’s.   They kept the outtakes of the shoot, and they ended up on a “blooper” reel that was orginally shown to the Winnebago executives.   This was back in the VHS days and the tape was duplicated till the video got very weak.  Then someone posted it on You Tube, and Jack Rebney became one of the most well know phenomenon’s of viral videos, along with the Star Wars Kid and the dancing baby.   The video is hilarious.  He got mad and cursed a blue streak on and on and on.  He truly came off as an insane idiot.

Well, Ben Steinbauer got hooked on the video and watched it over and over and over.  Then he wondered whatever happened to Jack Rebney, and how this new found fame suited him.   He set off on a quest to find him and find out what ever happened to “The Angriest Man in the World”.

He found out it wasn’t easy.  Winnebago wasn’t in contact and was not interested at all.  Then Ben even hired a private detective to track him down.  He agreed to be interviewed.  Jack was living on top of a mountain in California and was living like a hermit.  Apparently the fame had not sat so well with him.

This is an interesting documentary, but I was really waiting to see this film, and I found myself disappointed.  First, it was mostly about Ben Steinbauer, not Jack Rebney.  And it left a lot of the questions unanswered.  A lot of it was pretty boring and very self indulgent on the film maker’s part.   It was very self serving more than anything.

So it was and interesting subject, and it was very interesting to see the man today 30 years later.  Also on the special features is the entire video (without the outtakes) and it’s a pretty well done video.  Hopefully it helped the dealers sell a few RV’s. 🙂

But it could have been better.  If you’re interested in the real Jack Rebney (and you have seen the you tube video), go ahead and invest the time to see it.  Otherwise, you’ll probably be bored.

(It very funny to see how much Jack Rebney has inserted himself into popular culture, and how often his sayings have been copied and reused in modern work)

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Silver Screen Partners IV, Touchstone Pictures

Jim Varney, Douglas Seale, Oliver Clark, Noelle Parker, Gailard Sartain, Bill Byrqe, Robert Lesser

Ernest P Worrell (Knowhutimean, Vern) built a career out of being an obnoxious fool.  Jim Varney started this Ernest character for a commercial, and had a lot of success with the guy.  There is a string of Ernest movies (Ernest Goes to Camp, Ernest Goes to Jail, Ernest in the Army,  and a slew of others including a tv mockumentary called Ernest Goes to Splash Mountain for the opening of  <guess what?>).   But of all the Ernest movies, this one is probably one of the best.

Santa Claus is losing his memory and his power.  He is trying to find a successor, but it’s been a difficult task.  Ernest is a cab driver and Santa ends up in his cab.  What follows is one catastrophe after another as Ernest with a big heart tries to help Santa find and commit his successor.  But it’s a bit difficult to accomplish when the guy you’re escorting around thinks he’s Santa.  Without Ernest’s help, Christmas is not going to happen.

Well of course it’s a very silly film, and it’s definitely not for everyone, but if it’s your type of movie, you’re bound to like it.  Ernest is such a klutz with such a big heart.   As gullible as he is, you know he’s not going to let Santa down.  This has all the slapstick and corny jokes, plus elves, flying reindeer, snakes, and a magic bag that never empties.   Thank you Ernest, you made my Christmas a little bit funnier.  KnowhutImean?

Josephson Entertainment, Gold Circle Films, Village RoadshowPictures

Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel, Josh Lucas, Alexis Clagett, Brynn Clagget, Brooke Clagget, Hayes MacArthur, Christina Hendricks, Sarah Burns, Melissa McCarty

This is a pretty decent “relationship movie”.  What that means of course is the old Romantic Comedy (aka chick flick).   But it had a pretty solid story and some very funny moments mixed in with the heartfelt moments.

This movie starts with a happy family with two friends.  Somehow they think these two ought to get together so they set them up.  What happens is one of the shortest disasters of a blind date on record.  Time passes and they have a daughter.  Suddenly they are gone and the two friends find out to their surprise that they were named in the will as the guardian of the little girl “Sophie”.   Too bad they absolutely hate each other.  But what’s best for the girl will be the route they try to take.

The rest is obvious, but in the way they try to get there has a lot of ups and down and a lot of laughs.  The music is current, and adds a lot, and the chemistry (hate or love) flows between the two of them.  Katherine Heigl is really turning into a good actress.  The little girl(s) (there are 3 of them), are really cute, and the lady who plays the case worker turns out to be pretty funny.

Nothing fantastic out of the ordinary here, but if you like these kinds of films, this is  a good one.  Chick flick or not, I enjoyed it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Bauman Entertainment Company

Billy Ray Cyrus, Ben Cotton, Emily Tennant, Arien Boey, Matt Ward, Jacob Blair, Tom McBeath, Brendan Meyer

No it’s not an Israeli Christmas story.  This is set in Canaan, Texas.  Billy Ray???  Uh oh!   Actually, Billy Ray did a good job and was very understated (and for the record did not sing, no not even Achy Breaky Heart!).  This is a story of two boys growing up in a Texas.  One is white, very poor and the other is black, and lives with his Grandmother.   They never liked each other very much, but an altercation on the school bus breaks out into a fight.   Rodney Grandmother and DJ’s Dad come up with a fitting punishment.  They are going to live together for a week.  DJ at Rodney’s house then Rodney at DJ’s house.  During that time they learned to respect each other which turned into a lifetime friendship.  But one magical Christmas in Canaan they learned what is really important. This is not simply a Christmas story, although Christmas does play a big part of the story, but it follows the lives of these boys from childhood to adulthood and all the challenges and difficulties they face.  The centerpiece is racial harmony and how the boys learned how they are alike and how they are different.   Very nice movie, Billy Ray and all!

Bonneville Worldwide Entertainment, Madison Avenue Productions Inc., The Polson Company

Neil Patrick Harris, Debbie Reynolds, Naomi Watts, Alesandra Wilson, Beverly Archer, Ian Meltzer, Gary Bayer, James Greene, Jerry Douglas, Michael Fairman

Will Martin (Harris)  is a sleek Wall Street executive who comes home to his Grandmother’s house  for the holidays.  His grandfather has just passed away leaving a real estate company.  Will is trying to modernize the company and has brought in a new manager to bright the company into the 21st century and modernize the procedures and policies as well as a new way of doing business.  The rest of the employees hate him as they call him heartless.   Grandmother has began reading her husbands journals and found a lot of entries about a mysterious woman she doesn’t know named Lillian.  Thinking it couldn’t possibly be an affair, but not knowing what else it could be, she asks for only one gift from her grandson for Christmas.  Her “Christmas Wish” is for Will to find out who Lillian is and why his grandfather kept it a secret from her all these years.  Sometimes you don’t want to know the truth, but sometimes you just need to know.

This is a strong “values” movie, with lots of lessons of what is important and such, but it’s surrounded by a mystery that has twists and turns throughout.  The more Will digs, the more it looks like his Grandfather was up to something shady.  It’s a grand Christmas tale of love and caring.  This is one unique tale and one that’s well worth watching.