It occurred to me somewhere halfway through Ernest Scared Stupid that Larry T. Cable Guy perhaps owes his entire career to Jim Varney. Think out it: they are both creators of famed, broad blue-collar redneck stereotypes, both eternally working class, and both possessed of a goofy voice. Indeed, both Varney and Guy have voiced Disney-sponsored animated features: Varney was in Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Guy was in the Cars movies.
But Ernest is, I feel, the superior comic creation. Although Guy skews more adult, he has a vaguely caustic edge. He also has the dubious position of – perhaps – being the universal voice of the 21st-century redneck working class. Ernest, by contrast, is a sweetheart. He may be as obnoxious, and his shtick may be just as grating to some people, but Ernest’s kid-friendly playfulness is far more agreeable. Ernest is an innocent who instinctually wants to help people. Larry the Cable Guy seems to operate from a more pathetic place. Guy is a slob who says things like “Ever fart so hard, your back cracks?” Ernest is a slapstick, near-cartoon entity who does funny impersonations. I think I prefer the latter, knowhutImean?
Welcome back, dear readers to CraveOnline‘s The Series Project, and our examination of the Ernest movies therein. Last week, we covered the first three films in the 10-film series, running from the obscure Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam through the beloved Ernest Saves Christmas. This week, we’ll be finishing off the final theatrically released Ernest movies. Starting with…
Ernest Goes to Jail (dir. John R. Cherry III, 1990)
Ernest Goes to Jail puts Ernest front and center for the first time, really, eschewing little kids and Santa Claus for a drama with our hero. This is the first time where we see Ernest’s home, and concern ourselves with his personal life. He’s still not a “deep” character by any means, but in my more daring critical moments, I would be tempted to compare him to Falstaff; The proud, bold, idiotic coward that good people love, and bad people hate. Ernest Goes to Jail is also perhaps the funniest of the Ernest movies, giving Varney a few golden set pieces that, well, I laughed really hard at, despite myself.
Case in point: The funniest scene in the film involves Ernest going to dinner with a friend and would-be love interest named Charlotte (Barbara Bush, but not that Barbara Bush). Ernest learned in previous scenes that when he’s electrocuted, his body becomes magnetic for a brief period. This leads to some funny scenes wherein he is chased by filing cabinets and various metal knickknacks fly through the air and stick to his face. He was electrocuted before his dinner with Charlotte, and he has to subtly deflect metal objects that creep toward him throughout the scene. The comic timing and silly setup is worthy of Harpo Marx.
The story is typical, however, rather than classical. Ernest works as a bank janitor, but dreams of perhaps becoming clerk one day. His boss (Dan Leegant) hates him, and wants to fire him, but his friend Charlotte always has his back. Ernest is called for jury duty one day (he adores the notion of sitting on a jury), and is chosen for a case involving an in-prison murder. This leads to a tour of the nearby prison. The prison, by the way, uses the electric chair, meaning we’re in Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Kentucky.
It just so happens that one of the prisoners at this prison – Felix Nash, the meanest prisoner the prison has ever had – just so happens to look exactly like Ernest. Nash’s bulky enforcer Lyle (Randall “Tex” Cobb) knocks Ernest out, and Nash switches clothes with him, sneaking out of prison.
So now it’s up to Nash to see if he can pretend to be Ernest, and to lick his lips at the thought of working in a bank at night (Nash’s previous crimes were never revealed, but we can assume he was a bank robber). Nash is suave and mannered when compared to Ernest, but lacks Ernest’s, well, earnestness. He is also stymied by the bank’s determined security guards (Gailard Sartain from Ernest Goes to Camp and Bill Byrge). Ernest, meanwhile, has to pretend to be Nash, else Nash’s thugs pull some strings and get Charlotte killed. Ernest, of course, has no idea how to be a punk and it takes him several hours to even realize that he is actually in prison and not in the jury room. Classic mistaken identity stuff.
This prison, by the way, is only as dirty as a PG-rated film will allow, so there are a lot of threats of violence without any actual violence. Also, it’s loosely run enough that Ernest is allowed several rather obvious escape attempts. If the prison guards are – as they are in this film – dressed in padded maroon Zoot suits, perhaps we can take comfort that this is a cartoon universe, and all violence is going to be merely cartoon violence.
I’ll say this for Varney: In addition to be a wholly dedicated comedian, he’s actually something of a good actor. Varney plays both Ernest and Nash in this film, and there is never a doubt which character we’re looking at. Nash seems annoyed by the shenanigans around him, like he doesn’t understand what kind of movie he’s supposed to be in. Varney doesn’t make Nash into a broad villain, but a real character. Juxtaposing this with his playful, rubber-faced Ernest shtick proves Varney to be a striking talent. Yes, I declare that Varney was a talented man.
Jail‘s climax involves Ernest going to the electric chair, and accidentally gaining electric superpowers that allow him to escape from prison. He returns to his bank just in time to stop a robbery/hostage situation/multiple murder that Nash is in the midst of planning. Ernest is electrocuted a second time (on a bank security cage), and somehow gains the ability to fly…
Okay, so a lot of the conceits are dumb, but this 81-minute is pleasant and funny for a kid-aimed PG-rated comedy film. It’s perhaps the best film in the series.
The next film incorporates kids again, dragging it down a bit. Let’s take a look at the Ernest Halloween film…
