Male Restroom Etiquette - Reception and Impact

Reception and Impact

Although Rice hosts Male Restroom Etiquette on his own site and uploaded it elsewhere, the film became popular on YouTube, where, after being featured on the front page in early October 2006, it was viewed 2 million times by December 2006, 3.2 million times by February 2007, and 5 million times as of March 21, 2009. According to the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, it is the most viewed Sims film on YouTube. Citing this popularity, Elijah Horwatt credits the work with increasing public interest in machinima. The film has won awards, including Best Writing at the Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences' 2006 Machinima Festival, and Best of the Web from Animation World Network (AWN) in 2007. Television networks were interested in airing Male Restroom Etiquette, but the work uses game-provided content, and Rice was unable to obtain the required permission from Electronic Arts, the copyright owner of that content.

Writing for machinima.com, Grove praised Rice's decision to base Male Restroom Etiquette on educational films because Male Restroom Etiquette shows truthfully and parodies male customs in restrooms. Grove also stated that the music, an original soundtrack, fits well. In highlighting the film in their Best of the Web showcase, AWN stated that the it "shows that a skilled filmmaker can create compelling performances and stories in machinima". Grove stated that, for many, the work served as their introduction to machinima.