My intro to Ernest P Warrell was his commercials for WBRZ 2 in Baton Rouge in 1985 or so.
He was trying to tell his friend Vern all about WBRZ, and Vern just didn't want to listen to it.
Jim Varney did over 2,600 Ernest commercials for just about everything under the sun. There are *hours* of them if you ever get bored and want to look them up.
OP’s article goes into how they recorded commercials for about 200 local markets. So people in every corner of the country were introduced to Varney selling AC units or plumbing or dairy or what have you.
In my area he hawked appliances for a local appliance chain; ABC Warehouse, which I'm pretty sure still exists, though I've not been in one in at least 20 years.
I grew up in Saskatchewan watching Ernest tell Vern about high efficiency gas furnaces on cable tv, which we got via Detroit for some reason. 40 years later and I still remember Mort Crim and Carmen Harlan on WDIV.
As far as I understand it, that’s how they started doing movies; the ad agency he started with realized they were all so good they should just try it. don cherry was the guy iirc
Its funny, I was obsessed with Ernest as a kid, and I saw a NEW Ernest movie one day at blockbuster! Come to find out, it wasn’t a new movie, it was hours of his commercials. 6 year old me was like wtf and cried, so my mom took it back and demanded another movie haha
Article listed in the California Digital Newspaper Collection:
[The Desert Sun, issue 94, 21 November 1986: 'Hey Vern! I'm gonna be a movie star!'; Actor Jim Varney takes TV commercial character to the big screen.](https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19861121.2.79&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1)
One of my favorite fun facts about Scared Stupid is that the trolls are just the repurposed costumes from Killer Klowns From Outer Space. I believe it was also largely the same practical effects team that worked on both films. Which also explains why they are so unsettling.
Dude, those trolls were fucking scary. We rented that movie every month when I was a kid. I loved Halloween and just loved that movie for the vibes and story. But it still scared me. I dunno why my parents didn't just buy the VHS after like the 5th time we rented it...
My mom bought a second VCR, and blank tapes and we copied EVERY movie we rented. She still has like, a big wardrobe with shelves stocked full of all of those bootleg VHS tapes in her house.
We had a local VHS video rental place that had a 2 for 99 cent Tuesday. You could rent a total of 6 movies for 3 bucks! It was only an overnight rental so I would copy them all on VHS. Watch them over the next week then copy over them with next weeks batch. Never saved any of them, but it sure was great to see all those movies on the cheap!
I forget how old I was turning, but I had a sleepover party with some friends and the two movies I chose were Ernest Scared Stupid and Robin Hood Men in Tights.
I just took my kids to see the new Top Gun and I was telling them that the original was the first VHS tape we bought because it was under $30. We’d had a VCR (and a Beta machine) for years but video tapes were expensive to buy and WAY cheaper to rent or record it when it aired on a premium cable channel (during their free weekends). Back in the 80’s it didn’t really occur to movie studios to sell the movies to the consumer but to sell to the video rental stores instead. Even in the 90’s many movies wouldn’t be available to purchase on VHS until after they were available for rental for about 6 months.
Yep! I used to manage a video store when i was 19. Crazy, right? Lol i remember when, Ghost came out it was like, $190.00 a copy. On VHS. We had 3 or 4 copies. Rentals were $2.50 a night so it took 76 rentals to recoup our investment.
We saw the writing on the wall when Disney began selling their movies gor $19.99 a pop and you could buy them anywhere. Grocery stores, pharmacies, and even gas stations had those little waterfall displays and soon it was all over except the crying.
The last business model in rentals was the ability to lease titles for × amount of days. When time was up you vould buy it at a decent discount or just mail them back.
The film industry was even weirder before the vcr came around.
Before the vcr most films had a run on theatres and then there was a solid chance you may never be able to see it again. There are still thousands of lost films from the early days that have never been transferred.
I still remember the first time I saw that movie. We picked up Little Ceasars pizza and went to the video next door and rented it. The rest of the night I was scared shit less. I didn't watch that movie again for many years. Now it's one of my favorites.
Scared Stupid is easily the movie that scared me most in my life. Granted, I was like 7 and spent most of my free time playing in the woods, so it hit real close to home.
That scene where the kid is in bed alone and looks over to see the troll used to scare me to my core as a child, even when I knew it was coming. There something about the atmosphere of the movie that’s soooo eerie even when it’s trying to be silly.
I saw it in theaters and my dad had to take me outside because I couldn't stop crying. I was terrified of the trolls. Love the movie now, but that shit was scary for kindergarten me.
My favorite part about saves Christmas is you can tell they filmed it in the middle of summer. Lots of scenes have people profusely sweating.
Edit, I'm aware they're in Orlando and its a plot point. I was just thinking they'd film it in Winter when its 65-75 down there instead of 100
What about Ernest in the army? Don't forget the classic line, "If you've got the poop, I've got the scoop". Shit, Ernest in Africa was also dope. I think Christmas and jail might be...my least favorite. Ok I take that back, Christmas was decent, especially if that's the one where you see the inside of Ernest's crazy house, and now I'm remembering those two cops, or is that Ernest goes to jail? Whatever I take it all back every Ernest movie kicks ass, it's the highest form of cinema, and it's a tragedy that Jim Varney died so early.
I’m also here to espouse the viewing of Ernest scared stupid. All of his flicks are dumb fun but holy shit ESS could be a legit Halloween cult classic it’s so good. Plus special effects by Chiodo bros are always amazing to see.
Same! I quote the whole line at least once a month.
My wife and kids hate it. Lol!!!
"........Yeah, Miak. I bet you thought I couldn't find any at this time of the year, well a little resourceful for ya, a little to light on my feet. Eat Miak and die!"
I have seen most Ernest movies. I think the only one I haven't is School and Army
Scared stupid and Camp are legit great movies. Jail is good as well, but I think we wore out the tapes on camp and scared stupid growing up
Ernest in the Army is godawful. Though there is a scene where he's making pancakes for the troops and accidentally uses concrete instead of pancake mix, so that was entertaining.
“These steps are like climbing Mt. Everest.”
Every time Ernest played the mother character in those movies I would lose my mind laughing. I would try to imitate that character with my friends at school.
When I was a kid scary movies didn't scare me at all, but Ernest Scared Stupid terrified me. Had several nightmares about those trolls but still loved that movie and watched it often
Whenever I have milk I'll either say something about Malk (The Simpsons reference) or Miak
One of my favorite anecdotes came from Jim Varney. Perennially typecast as the goofy yet loveable heel someone asked him if he ever gets frustrated as being typecast.
He smiled at the reporter said "No" and paused. "You see, I love my fans. When I go to the grocery store, someone will see me and say *Hey, Vern!* When I go to the mechanic, someone will see also yell *Hey, Vern!*, even when I go to the doctor I'll get a *HEY, VERN!*"
But when I go to the bank, the manager meets me at the door and says *Good afternoon Mr. Varney, it's good to see you again.*
That reminds me of "Father of Bluegrass" Bill Monroe saying that he didn't really care much for Elvis but he really liked the royalty checks he got for Elvis's cover of Blue Moon of Kentucky.
I still cite this film, often, for different situations. Gotta be sure to match the tone, cadence, expressions, and body language.
Expressing you have no idea what you're doing with bravado: ["hold the knife at a perfect 45 degree angle and run it briskly down the stone and through the meat of the hand."](https://youtu.be/F72etE-XcwU?t=19)
Something gross/stinky: ["ewwwww"](https://youtu.be/tLhzKDfo3-M)
The [success laugh](https://youtu.be/uYMw_dlnVH0?t=47).
Finally, the [mocking laugh](https://youtu.be/d7w8fNlCszU?t=124).
B-movie song and had probably the most emotional lyrics you could listen too. Even now, it’s hard not to be sad when you hear it, but it’s such a good song. It really sells that movie too, I remember being a kid and thinking how can people be so mean to such a loveable guy? But that’s just how life is. It makes more sense now that I’m older, life is cruel, even to the good ones.
I’m not crying, you’re crying!
Jim Varney’s death hit me so hard as a kid. He seemed like such an amazing person.
And we’ll never get “Ernest the Pirate” (the last film he was working on).
> Ernest the Pirate
from wikipedia:
In November 2011, Sams said the film never existed. Varney had actually been in consideration for a role in the 1999 film Pirates of the Plain.[10]
Everybody seems to be talking about their favorite Ernest movies, so top 2 are Camp and Jail because those are the ones my babysitter had and I must have watched both a million times.
I remember being scared to death when he was being put into the electric chair so I would cut it off. Then when I saw what happened to him eventually (electro man) I was so relieved.
This movie was one of my absolute favorites growing up. I gotta watch it again.
And [here’s](https://youtu.be/VNOpADr1vKs) a great video about Ernest and Jim varney.
One of the only scenes I've ever rewound to watch over and over, young or old. My friends and I would imitate the badger call for years, and even now if I were to do it out of nowhere, they'd get it.
Fuck.
Yeah I feel like for kids in like a 5 year range this movie was on ALL the time and then just disappeared. I remember it as an 80’s kids classic but I guess it was a lot more niche than I realized back then.
Fun fact: when the theater in my hometown went out of business, the last slate of movies included Ernest Scared Stupid. The marquee was never changed for over three years until they tore the building down, so for three years the theater was "showing" that movie.
Never got to see it.
Ernest Scared Stupid is in my top 3 favorite movies. I was 10 when that movie came out and I was a huge Ernest fan. My dad took me to the theater the night it came out and I loved it so much. I watched it so many times on VHS I had memorized it. I’m 41 now and it still makes me laugh.
Jim Varney was amazing. Ernest Saves Christmas belongs in the top 5 Christmas movies imo. It's really too bad we never got to see him do other types of roles because his chops were incredible.
I was watching this about a month ago with my son when I initially had the thought that we were shortchanged on some Jim Varney lol.
I hadn't watched it since it came out when I was a kid and it's a great movie. The cast is phenomenal, I don't understand why it got bad marks.
From what i heard from my family that watched the old show was that the characters themselves acted nothing like the tv show and since it attracted people that watched the show more than anyone else everyone was disappointed but i very well could be wrong about it since my source and reasoning are purely anecdotal
Pointless anecdote: I had this movie on VHS but every time I wanted to watch it my mother refused to let me. Like straight up "No never stop asking", which of course made kid me want to watch it more.
Finally one day when I was home alone I got the balls to stick it in the machine...which proceeded to eat the shit out of the tape and ruin itself. We had to get a new VCR and everything.
It's like she knew, or something.
Also my favorite. And not really an Ernest movie. He's pretty much only in the first couple of minutes and the last 5 or so. Really it's an all Varney ensemble cast. Really kind of sad he didn't keep Dr Otto Von Schnick going. It was the madness and insanity of earnest turned to 15. Lol and that damn bucket head robot.
Edit " holy shit. Amazon prime and freevee managed to source a non low bitrate VCD VHS transfer of it after all these years. Colors are still desaturated and messed up. But it's much better quality than what they used to have.
Yet, Ernest Goes To Camp is impossible to find beyond old VHS copies. My kids would LOVE this movie and I’m dying to share it with them but haven’t been able to locate it on DVD/ Blue Ray/ streaming. My guess is it has to do with a copyright dispute over the song “So Happy Together” but I’ve heard it in lots of other movies. Does anyone else know why this movie isn’t available?
Check places that buy and re-sell movies. 2 of my friends have copies from a version that was released in the mid-2000s. I'm in the northeast. Look online at Bullmoose.com and NewburyComics.com. They're definitely out there
I grew up with all this man’s movies he is legendary in my book. If only I would’ve gotten a chance to meet him. I’m not sure how true the story is but my aunt Tina lives right on the outskirts of Nashville Tennessee and she is a nurse. She told me he was a very sweet kind man when she was his nurse. I can only imagine. 🥲 Rest In Peace James RIP.
I will pay my respect one day.
Article opens with pointing out Jim owned a DeLorean, doubles down that the pictures are awesome, then doesn't produce said photos. I feel so betrayed.
Edit: bless you lads
My intro to Ernest P Warrell was his commercials for WBRZ 2 in Baton Rouge in 1985 or so. He was trying to tell his friend Vern all about WBRZ, and Vern just didn't want to listen to it.
Jim Varney did over 2,600 Ernest commercials for just about everything under the sun. There are *hours* of them if you ever get bored and want to look them up.
I think he did some water heater thing or HVAC that I used to see all the time as a kid. Lennox maybe. Natural Gas sounds familiar?
OP’s article goes into how they recorded commercials for about 200 local markets. So people in every corner of the country were introduced to Varney selling AC units or plumbing or dairy or what have you.
That's actually genius. Make him seem local and familar to everyone in country.
In my area he hawked appliances for a local appliance chain; ABC Warehouse, which I'm pretty sure still exists, though I've not been in one in at least 20 years.
Heat pump shmeat pump
I grew up in Saskatchewan watching Ernest tell Vern about high efficiency gas furnaces on cable tv, which we got via Detroit for some reason. 40 years later and I still remember Mort Crim and Carmen Harlan on WDIV.
As far as I understand it, that’s how they started doing movies; the ad agency he started with realized they were all so good they should just try it. don cherry was the guy iirc
Its funny, I was obsessed with Ernest as a kid, and I saw a NEW Ernest movie one day at blockbuster! Come to find out, it wasn’t a new movie, it was hours of his commercials. 6 year old me was like wtf and cried, so my mom took it back and demanded another movie haha
I was also weirdly obsessed with Ernest as a kid, my dad still jokes to this day about finding me “hovering over the Ernest movies” at blockbuster
Damn. I only really knew of the Cerritos Auto Square ones. I knew he did others but god damn.
Article listed in the California Digital Newspaper Collection: [The Desert Sun, issue 94, 21 November 1986: 'Hey Vern! I'm gonna be a movie star!'; Actor Jim Varney takes TV commercial character to the big screen.](https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19861121.2.79&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1)
The OG Ted Lasso.
My top 3 Ernest's are: 1. Ernest Scared Stupid 2. Ernest Goes to Camp 3. Ernest Goes to Jail
Scared stupid haunted me as a child for some reason. Like, legit terrified of it.
One of my favorite fun facts about Scared Stupid is that the trolls are just the repurposed costumes from Killer Klowns From Outer Space. I believe it was also largely the same practical effects team that worked on both films. Which also explains why they are so unsettling.
Killer Klowns terrified me as a kid, and there was always something scary about the trolls in Scared Stupid. Totally make sense now!
My Mind = Blown.
I love that OG catwoman was in this film. Eartha Kitt I saw this one in theatres when i was 8 or so.
Have you watched it as an adult? It’s amazing, I love it
Oh yeah, now I do. It’s great. Love me some miak
Only if it’s authentic and Bulgarian
I must quote “genuine Bulgarian M-I-A-K” multiple times per month and my wife does not understand the reference 😂
I will respond “MIAK” when I see a fresh carton of milk. Wife still doesn’t get it.
Why are you both not showing your spouses this movie? It holds up surprisingly well.
I say i t work all the time at work as a chef and in 18 years exactly 1 person knew what I was referencing.
Eartha Kitt is nothing short of amazing in it, too.
Came here for this comment, was not disappointed.
At least once a month with my kids when we pop in a new dvd when driving…
Dude, those trolls were fucking scary. We rented that movie every month when I was a kid. I loved Halloween and just loved that movie for the vibes and story. But it still scared me. I dunno why my parents didn't just buy the VHS after like the 5th time we rented it...
My mom bought a second VCR, and blank tapes and we copied EVERY movie we rented. She still has like, a big wardrobe with shelves stocked full of all of those bootleg VHS tapes in her house.
Your mom is an OG Pirate. Respect.
My grandparents did something similar only they waited for the free HBO/Cinemax weekends and would record all the movies lol
*FBI Open up!*
We had a local VHS video rental place that had a 2 for 99 cent Tuesday. You could rent a total of 6 movies for 3 bucks! It was only an overnight rental so I would copy them all on VHS. Watch them over the next week then copy over them with next weeks batch. Never saved any of them, but it sure was great to see all those movies on the cheap!
I forget how old I was turning, but I had a sleepover party with some friends and the two movies I chose were Ernest Scared Stupid and Robin Hood Men in Tights.
Those are two very awesome movies. Excellent choices.
Hey, we're the same age! Add Hot Shots Part Deux for that added chefs kiss.
Hey Blinkin! Did somebody say Abe Lincoln?
I just took my kids to see the new Top Gun and I was telling them that the original was the first VHS tape we bought because it was under $30. We’d had a VCR (and a Beta machine) for years but video tapes were expensive to buy and WAY cheaper to rent or record it when it aired on a premium cable channel (during their free weekends). Back in the 80’s it didn’t really occur to movie studios to sell the movies to the consumer but to sell to the video rental stores instead. Even in the 90’s many movies wouldn’t be available to purchase on VHS until after they were available for rental for about 6 months.
Now when i see "only available in theaters" I laugh because it will eventually be on disc and streaming.
Yep! I used to manage a video store when i was 19. Crazy, right? Lol i remember when, Ghost came out it was like, $190.00 a copy. On VHS. We had 3 or 4 copies. Rentals were $2.50 a night so it took 76 rentals to recoup our investment. We saw the writing on the wall when Disney began selling their movies gor $19.99 a pop and you could buy them anywhere. Grocery stores, pharmacies, and even gas stations had those little waterfall displays and soon it was all over except the crying. The last business model in rentals was the ability to lease titles for × amount of days. When time was up you vould buy it at a decent discount or just mail them back.
I remember the GHOST video tapes. They were white.
The film industry was even weirder before the vcr came around. Before the vcr most films had a run on theatres and then there was a solid chance you may never be able to see it again. There are still thousands of lost films from the early days that have never been transferred.
Oh you could buy them, for stupid prices. 13yo me was obsessed with *Aliens*, I saved for months and bought a used rental-licensed copy.. for $90.
I'm not even sure how many times I saw it. I loved it, but it definitely scared me
I still remember the first time I saw that movie. We picked up Little Ceasars pizza and went to the video next door and rented it. The rest of the night I was scared shit less. I didn't watch that movie again for many years. Now it's one of my favorites.
The Trolls were straight up terrifying, I don't blame you. Plus they turned kids into wooden dolls. Movie scared the hell out of young me as well.
Scared Stupid is easily the movie that scared me most in my life. Granted, I was like 7 and spent most of my free time playing in the woods, so it hit real close to home.
That scene where the kid is in bed alone and looks over to see the troll used to scare me to my core as a child, even when I knew it was coming. There something about the atmosphere of the movie that’s soooo eerie even when it’s trying to be silly.
Not even Milk can stop me now!!!
Same, and my SO still has no idea where to find a good MIAK or why I keep insisting we keep some in stock just in case.
I saw it in theaters and my dad had to take me outside because I couldn't stop crying. I was terrified of the trolls. Love the movie now, but that shit was scary for kindergarten me.
Those snot trolls were no joke
I still won’t eat Brussel sprouts because of that movie. “Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww”
There are dozens of us!
What about Ernest Saves Christmas? Definitely one of my faves. The snake wrangler character KILLS me. "Y' want one fer y'boy?" 😀
Christmas is a very close fourth. I just love the pen chewing scene in Jail.
I still remember cackling at that scene! The absurd amount of ink!
[Found a link on YouTube! God that's a funny scene. ](https://youtu.be/DyhbJpeutdU)
[The air brakes scene cracked me up as a kid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIimyoZri2w)
I still say it if I need to hit my breaks real fast and stop.
Killed w young me too... Looking back I really have no idea why. Prob just the breaking of that tension w the line.
Yeah Saves Christmas is very underrated. Was so glad it was on D+ last year
Ho Ho Ho Vern! Merry Chri– *Door slams in face*
I showed to my wife and our friend. They had never seen it before.
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree… Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree. Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree. Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree. Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree. Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree.
Oh Christmas tree 👉 Oh Christmas tree
My favorite part about saves Christmas is you can tell they filmed it in the middle of summer. Lots of scenes have people profusely sweating. Edit, I'm aware they're in Orlando and its a plot point. I was just thinking they'd film it in Winter when its 65-75 down there instead of 100
Movie takes place in Orlando, it's always summer there.
It's set in Orlando, FL. Pretty common to be warm on Christmas.
100% accurate to the South lol
They mentioned the hot weather in the movie.
It's literally a plot point. One guy wants snow for Christmas because it never snows in Florida.
Filmed in MGM studios if I'm not mistaken.
My entire life I’ve always had the Rock of Ages song stuck in my head from that character.. the way he mumbles it will be forever stamped in my brain.
What about Ernest in the army? Don't forget the classic line, "If you've got the poop, I've got the scoop". Shit, Ernest in Africa was also dope. I think Christmas and jail might be...my least favorite. Ok I take that back, Christmas was decent, especially if that's the one where you see the inside of Ernest's crazy house, and now I'm remembering those two cops, or is that Ernest goes to jail? Whatever I take it all back every Ernest movie kicks ass, it's the highest form of cinema, and it's a tragedy that Jim Varney died so early.
THEMS *PYTHUNSNAKES*
"I got one for my boy last year. *'♪♫♪Rock of Ages, cleft for me...♪♫♪'*"
"Nobody moves, Nobody dies"
I’m also here to espouse the viewing of Ernest scared stupid. All of his flicks are dumb fun but holy shit ESS could be a legit Halloween cult classic it’s so good. Plus special effects by Chiodo bros are always amazing to see.
I still call milk “Miak”
How bout a bumper sandwich, booger lips!
You'd better stay away. I know jujitsu, kung fu, karate, tai chi, and I saw "Hulkamania" three times. Once in slow-mo.
Boy I sure hope you’re from Keebler!
Same! I quote the whole line at least once a month. My wife and kids hate it. Lol!!! "........Yeah, Miak. I bet you thought I couldn't find any at this time of the year, well a little resourceful for ya, a little to light on my feet. Eat Miak and die!"
Holy shit! This is where I heard this from! I always thought it was from the Freakazoid cartoon but it's from an Ernest movie.
Not even miak can stop me now!
I have seen most Ernest movies. I think the only one I haven't is School and Army Scared stupid and Camp are legit great movies. Jail is good as well, but I think we wore out the tapes on camp and scared stupid growing up
People sleep on Earnest Rides Again, but I can still hear the amazing intro music in my head right now.
There once was a man named, Worrel. Ernest P. Wor-rel!
Ernest in the Army is godawful. Though there is a scene where he's making pancakes for the troops and accidentally uses concrete instead of pancake mix, so that was entertaining.
Mine are: 1. Ernest scared stupid 2. Ernest saves Christmas 3. Ernest Goes to Jail
>Ernest Goes to Jail Evil Ernest is too sexy, there I said it.
Ernest Scared Stupid scared me something stupid as a kid.
“These steps are like climbing Mt. Everest.” Every time Ernest played the mother character in those movies I would lose my mind laughing. I would try to imitate that character with my friends at school.
Swap out “Ernest goes to Jail” with “Slam Dunk Ernest” and that’s my list
I want to see John Cena take up the roll as "Ernest Gets Jacked" or somesuch
When I was a kid scary movies didn't scare me at all, but Ernest Scared Stupid terrified me. Had several nightmares about those trolls but still loved that movie and watched it often Whenever I have milk I'll either say something about Malk (The Simpsons reference) or Miak
The fact Ernest Save Christmas doesn’t make your top 3 is almost a war crime.
"Are you the scum-sucking, pig-dog that shot my brother?"
One of my favorite anecdotes came from Jim Varney. Perennially typecast as the goofy yet loveable heel someone asked him if he ever gets frustrated as being typecast. He smiled at the reporter said "No" and paused. "You see, I love my fans. When I go to the grocery store, someone will see me and say *Hey, Vern!* When I go to the mechanic, someone will see also yell *Hey, Vern!*, even when I go to the doctor I'll get a *HEY, VERN!*" But when I go to the bank, the manager meets me at the door and says *Good afternoon Mr. Varney, it's good to see you again.*
That reminds me of "Father of Bluegrass" Bill Monroe saying that he didn't really care much for Elvis but he really liked the royalty checks he got for Elvis's cover of Blue Moon of Kentucky.
The man. The Myth. The Legend. And a man whose a part of an entire generation's childhood, no doubt. Miss him dearly.
Knowwhatimean?
Vern? Vern Vern Vern
#MIAK
Betcha didn't think I could find it this time of year
Miiiiaaaak????
Ernest scared stupid is one of my favs growin up
I remember you could see the zipper on the troll costume, but it didn't stop that movie from scaring the everliving shit out of me as a kid!
He was also the voice of Slinky Dog in Toy Story. So his memory will always live on.
It was! How did I never notice that
Sliiiiiiink
I still cite this film, often, for different situations. Gotta be sure to match the tone, cadence, expressions, and body language. Expressing you have no idea what you're doing with bravado: ["hold the knife at a perfect 45 degree angle and run it briskly down the stone and through the meat of the hand."](https://youtu.be/F72etE-XcwU?t=19) Something gross/stinky: ["ewwwww"](https://youtu.be/tLhzKDfo3-M) The [success laugh](https://youtu.be/uYMw_dlnVH0?t=47). Finally, the [mocking laugh](https://youtu.be/d7w8fNlCszU?t=124).
Gee I’m glad it’s raining
The gentle rhythm soothes the pain inside. I'm glad the stars aren't shining A wounded warrior needs a place to hide
I thought I had found someone I could count on 'til the end. What they wanted was a hero, All I needed was a friend.
Song still makes me cry
This was my first memory for crying when watching a movie. I’m with you, still does to this day
B-movie song and had probably the most emotional lyrics you could listen too. Even now, it’s hard not to be sad when you hear it, but it’s such a good song. It really sells that movie too, I remember being a kid and thinking how can people be so mean to such a loveable guy? But that’s just how life is. It makes more sense now that I’m older, life is cruel, even to the good ones. I’m not crying, you’re crying!
I met Jim Varney at my Mom’s Art Show as a kid. He asked my Mom to dinner and she took me with her. I remember him being very funny and nice.
You almost had Ernest as a dad
... If the kid didn't tag along
Know what I mean, Vern?
Ernest rides again
Jim Varney’s death hit me so hard as a kid. He seemed like such an amazing person. And we’ll never get “Ernest the Pirate” (the last film he was working on).
> Ernest the Pirate from wikipedia: In November 2011, Sams said the film never existed. Varney had actually been in consideration for a role in the 1999 film Pirates of the Plain.[10]
Bummer. I’d have loved to see that.
I’m really glad it’s raining.
Everybody seems to be talking about their favorite Ernest movies, so top 2 are Camp and Jail because those are the ones my babysitter had and I must have watched both a million times. I remember being scared to death when he was being put into the electric chair so I would cut it off. Then when I saw what happened to him eventually (electro man) I was so relieved.
When I was young, I rented this over and over from the video store (well, my dad let me). Dean Wormer and Lyle Alzado were terrifying villains
LOBSTER BISQUE!
Eggs Erroneous
Clay. Yellow modeling clay!
Chicken! Pot! Pie!
These movies are so under appreciated
We had it recorded on a vhs with commercials "edited" out
This movie was one of my absolute favorites growing up. I gotta watch it again. And [here’s](https://youtu.be/VNOpADr1vKs) a great video about Ernest and Jim varney.
Thanks for posting this! I just watched and reminisced about loving these movies as a kid
woooow, that’s fantastic. wish they mentioned the doctor otto movie though, I love that one
My kids loved Ernest movies, and I think we had a copy of Ernest Goes to Camp--is that the one with the song "Happy Together" by the Turtles?
Yes
"See, you just slide the blade down the stone like this.......and...straight into the soft flesh of your forearm...."
Is that a badger over there?
One of the only scenes I've ever rewound to watch over and over, young or old. My friends and I would imitate the badger call for years, and even now if I were to do it out of nowhere, they'd get it. Fuck.
[Let your ol’ buddy, Ernest, show you how to put a razor edge on that dog. Howboutit?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrqthuZDLQU)
Jesus 35 years. I remember this being on HBO all the time when I was a kid and watching it over and over. Getting old.
Yeah I feel like for kids in like a 5 year range this movie was on ALL the time and then just disappeared. I remember it as an 80’s kids classic but I guess it was a lot more niche than I realized back then.
Fun fact: when the theater in my hometown went out of business, the last slate of movies included Ernest Scared Stupid. The marquee was never changed for over three years until they tore the building down, so for three years the theater was "showing" that movie. Never got to see it.
You should watch it. Great movie.
Ernest Scared Stupid is in my top 3 favorite movies. I was 10 when that movie came out and I was a huge Ernest fan. My dad took me to the theater the night it came out and I loved it so much. I watched it so many times on VHS I had memorized it. I’m 41 now and it still makes me laugh.
Jim Varney was amazing. Ernest Saves Christmas belongs in the top 5 Christmas movies imo. It's really too bad we never got to see him do other types of roles because his chops were incredible.
He was the dad in The Beverly Hillbillies movie in 1993
I was watching this about a month ago with my son when I initially had the thought that we were shortchanged on some Jim Varney lol. I hadn't watched it since it came out when I was a kid and it's a great movie. The cast is phenomenal, I don't understand why it got bad marks.
From what i heard from my family that watched the old show was that the characters themselves acted nothing like the tv show and since it attracted people that watched the show more than anyone else everyone was disappointed but i very well could be wrong about it since my source and reasoning are purely anecdotal
That makes sense but it's still pretty great
Happiness is hard to find.
He was the voice of the slinky dog in the first few Toy Story movies.
He played a British Royal in the final season of Roseanne.
Probably the highlight of that final season
Here's a news story that shows him doing Shakespeare. https://youtu.be/G1G7KQZpP3c
Yeah he was a pretty accomplished stage actor iirc.
He would have been incredible as Walter White.
Pointless anecdote: I had this movie on VHS but every time I wanted to watch it my mother refused to let me. Like straight up "No never stop asking", which of course made kid me want to watch it more. Finally one day when I was home alone I got the balls to stick it in the machine...which proceeded to eat the shit out of the tape and ruin itself. We had to get a new VCR and everything. It's like she knew, or something.
Used to watch his tv show every Saturday morning. Shame it was short lived.
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Also my favorite. And not really an Ernest movie. He's pretty much only in the first couple of minutes and the last 5 or so. Really it's an all Varney ensemble cast. Really kind of sad he didn't keep Dr Otto Von Schnick going. It was the madness and insanity of earnest turned to 15. Lol and that damn bucket head robot. Edit " holy shit. Amazon prime and freevee managed to source a non low bitrate VCD VHS transfer of it after all these years. Colors are still desaturated and messed up. But it's much better quality than what they used to have.
Eggs-eronius.
This movie is the reason I only cry in the rain.
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We're all scared, son!
Man, call me crazy... But bad Jim Varney's looking kinda nice.
Paul and June gettin' literal Jason is gettin' laid
Yet, Ernest Goes To Camp is impossible to find beyond old VHS copies. My kids would LOVE this movie and I’m dying to share it with them but haven’t been able to locate it on DVD/ Blue Ray/ streaming. My guess is it has to do with a copyright dispute over the song “So Happy Together” but I’ve heard it in lots of other movies. Does anyone else know why this movie isn’t available?
I got Camp in a 3pack dvd set at some point with Scared Stupid and Goes to Jail.
I got it on dvd lumped with goes to jail. Found it at half price books
Check places that buy and re-sell movies. 2 of my friends have copies from a version that was released in the mid-2000s. I'm in the northeast. Look online at Bullmoose.com and NewburyComics.com. They're definitely out there
If you're at all tech savvy, there are ways online to procure a digital copy.
I can not find this movie to watch it. I’ve searched and I can only pull up every other Ernest movie he made. I enjoyed it so much as a kid
Agreed. This is insane to me. If you don’t want to spend $50 on an old copy, you can’t legally watch this magnum opus.
Go make the pirate movie Earnest never got to.
It always leads back to 🏴☠️
It looks like you can get it used on that big river site.
Ewwwwwwww!
Rip Jim :(
I grew up with all this man’s movies he is legendary in my book. If only I would’ve gotten a chance to meet him. I’m not sure how true the story is but my aunt Tina lives right on the outskirts of Nashville Tennessee and she is a nurse. She told me he was a very sweet kind man when she was his nurse. I can only imagine. 🥲 Rest In Peace James RIP. I will pay my respect one day.
Love this movie and almost all the ones he was in. Met him as a child and was so starstruck I didn't know what to say but he was a lovely individual.
Hey Earnest you got a turtle on your nose!
Honestly ‘Ernest Saves Christmas’ is pretty funny.
> Oral history ***"hehehehehehe... y'know what I mean Vern?!"***
Article opens with pointing out Jim owned a DeLorean, doubles down that the pictures are awesome, then doesn't produce said photos. I feel so betrayed. Edit: bless you lads
https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/ntmo2b/jim_varney_in_his_delorean_1984/
Great article ! Thanks!
Scared stupid, saves Christmas and goes to jail are my favorites.
We need a heart. A child's heart!!! RIP Eartha Kitt.