Ernest Goes to Jail

Starring:Jim Varney, Gailard Sartain, Bill Byrge, Barbara Tyson, Barry Scott, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, Dan Leegant, Charles Napier, Jim Conrad, Jackie Welch, Melanie Wheeler, Buck Ford, Daniel Butler, Charlie Lamb, Mac Bennett, Rick Schulman, Bruce Arntson, Andy Stahl, Bob Babbitt, Myke R. Mueller
Director: John R. Cherry III
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Description

Only a bumbling bank janitor like know-it-all knucklehead Ernest P. Worrell (Emmy(R) Award-winning comedian Jim Varney) could serve on jury duty and wind up serving time -- in the slammer! The laughs start when a crooked lawyer discovers that Ernest is a dead ringer for his crime-boss client ... and before you can say "Framed!" -- the switch is on! While Ernest is behind bars trying to fit in and break out, he manages to turn the big house into a nuthouse full of big laughs. Meanwhile, his evil double is busy taking his place at the bank and in his girlfriend's life! Full of comic inventiveness, a wacky cast of characters, and slam-bang special effects, ERNEST GOES TO JAIL is guilty of maximum fun in the first degree!

Customer Reviews:

jim varney and company are seriously underrated.......2007-04-08

i never knew it until a few years after he died...i had somewhat grown up with ernest movies. not a complete barrage, but a few viewings of camp, scared stupid, army, and this one every now and then..he was sort of the guy i took for granted(like looney tunes when they were on non stop in the late 90's)...but as you would know, you never know how good anything is until it is gone...over half a century since jim varney has died, and i find myself rediscovering these films. shame that ernest is fading into 90's cheesy nostalgia material. ripped on by all the critics, and released on rather poor excuses of dvds(still better than none)..ernest is becoming lost.

that being said, jim varney had a great sense of humor..enough so to play other characters within the same film and come off completely different. im not going to explain the movie...besides that its full of laughs.

as for this dvd...oh man..it ranks as the worst type of dvd...nothing extra..hence 4 stars...i say release all the ernest movies in a box set along with "hey vern its ernest tv show" and ernest the pirate in its fullest complete form....oh well, itll probably never happen since ernest is fading into underappreciated oblivion. stupid critics. if you dont like the type of movie, dont watch/rate it.

IF KIDS VOTED ON THE MAJOR FILM AWARDS 'ERNEST GOES TO JAIL' WOULD HAVE WON MANY AWARDS.......2006-10-27

IN A NUTSHELL: CREATED FOR PRE-ADOLESCENT KIDS THIS IS CLEAN COMEDY WITH PATHOS!

I saw this film when it was first released in 1990 and it was my first exposure to the world of 'Ernest'. Although I was already a mature adult, I found this film most compelling from the very first scene. To my surprise, the script is surprisingly detailed and the comedy came without profanity, overt violence or sex. In short, this is a film I could watch with my young children [at the time] or elderly mother without feeling uncomfortable about what was being shown and said on the screen.

WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT: WHAT IS ANY 'ERNEST' FILM ABOUT?

Ernest somehow manages to turn jury duty into a dead-end -- literally. Somehow he is spirited away during the trial and exchanged for a death-row dead-ringer of himself. Ernest must somehow survive an execution and save his friends on the outside from his evil look-alike, Mr. Felix Nash, who's criminal plans include the liquidation of all of Ernest's friends. Jim Varney plays both parts with the aplomb that only Ernest could carry off.

Jim Varney - Mr. Nash / Ernest P. Worrell
Gailard Sartain - Chuck
Bill Byrge - Bobby
Barbara Bush - Charlotte Sparrow
Barry Scott - Rubin Bartlett
Randall "Tex" Cobb - Lyle
Dan Leegant - Oscar Pendlesmythe
Charles Napier - Warden
Jim Conrad - Eddie
Jackie Welch - Judge

ABOUT THE DVD:

Frankly, this DVD is in full-frame and does not play as well as I would have expected. Also, there are NO FEATURES whatsoever, unless you consider close-captioning a Special Feature. That is a real shame because like most of Jim Varney's fans I am anxious to discover whatever I can about the world of 'Ernest' and his films.

You like Ernest?.......2006-07-25

This is probably my favorite of the Ernest movies. Man, Jim Varney was a great performer. I was sorry to hear he passed away a few years ago.

In this Ernest movie, Ernest works in a bank as a janitor and is terrible at his job. He hopes to work his way up to being a bank clerk, but there's little chance of that. He gets electrocuted while fiddling around with his floor waxer and it messes his whole body up, because every now and then throughout the film he becomes magnetized and metal objects begin chasing him around.

He has a crush on his coworker at the bank and finally gets a date with her. On the date, he wears the same old vest and brown cap he always wears.

A few days later, he gets a jury duty summons, and is actually delighted that "out of hundreds and thousands of people they could have picked, they chose me." After the trial starts, he's chewing on a pen as he listens to the case, and the pen busts in his mouth, in what has to be my favorite scene in the entire movie.

The defendant in the case notices that Ernest looks exactly like a fellow inmate of his, a convicted killer and bankrobber known as Mr. Nash. The defendant arranges for the jury to have a look at the jail where his alleged crime took place and a switch is made between Mr. Nash and Ernest. With Mr. Nash on the jury, the defendant is found innocent, and Mr. Nash tastes freedom as everyone thinks that this psychotic hardcore killer is plain old kind-hearted Ernest now.

Poor dumb Ernest is in jail for quite some time before he figures out what has happened. He figures he's just been "sequestered" as a juror. Ernest then finds out from other prisoners that he was switched with Mr. Nash, and unless Ernest acts like Mr. Nash to avoid suspicion, the real Mr. Nash who is as free as a bluebird will do bodily harm to his friends.

When Mr. Nash is scheduled to be executed, the warden takes Ernest to the electric chair, but, because he was electrocuted earlier in the movie, he doesn't die. Instead he becomes "Ernest P. Warrel - Electroman." He escapes from prison and goes to check on his buddies. He finds Mr. Nash robbing his bank and tries to save the day. He's electrocuted again by the bank's security system, and starts floating in the air. Talk about a really weird scene. Anyhow, Ernest uses his superpowers to stop Nash, and all is well once again.

One thing I noticed is that unlike other Ernest movies, this one doesn't have any kids in it. I don't know if you could call it an adult movie, but adults can sure get some enjoyment out of this. I know kids enjoy it too, and even though there are implications of violence during certain scenes of the film, it's a very clean movie, as all of Ernest's movies are. Perhaps this is the only family film you can find with jail as the setting.

Great movie for Ernest fans, and even people who don't like his clumsy character will probably enjoy this one.

The Quintessential Ernest Film!.......2006-01-19

Everybody's favorite goodhearted redneck, Ernest P. Worrell, returns in what is widely accepted as his finest film, "Ernest Goes to Jail!" Innocent screw-up Ernest is a nighttime bank janitor with dreams of becoming a daytime clerk. When he receives a jury summons in the mail, he is thrilled to have a chance to do his civic duty, but Ernest falls prey to the plot of a malicious prison inmate that is his exact double. After arranging a special "field trip" for the jury to the local penitentiary, look-alike Felix Nash switches places with Ernest. Suddenly, Ernest is a highly respected and feared prison inmate and the evil Mr. Nash is filling in for Ernest at the bank! His escape attempts repeatedly thwarted, things really heat up for Ernest when he realizes he is, in fact, on death row! Meanwhile, Mr. Nash has designs on Ernest's would-be girlfriend AND the bank vault! The only thing that might be able to save everybody now is Ernest's amazing ability to gain electrical and magnetic "powers" every time he gets electrocuted, which happens a lot!

The late, great Jim Varney is at the top of his game in 1990's "Ernest Goes To Jail," the 3rd film based on his hugely popular television personality. Together with hilarious Ernest staples Chuck (Gailard Sartain), Bobby (Bill Byrge), and Rimshot the dog, Ernest gets big laughs in the big-house and wows the audience with an amazingly opposite double-roll! As Ernest, Varney is loving and childlike as ever. As Felix Nash, Varney is a cold-blooded, ruthless criminal! And, yes, Auntie Nelda shows up too! Barbara Tyson plays the cute coworker who has captured Ernest's heart, and Randall "Tex" Cobb is his soft-hearted cellmate. The DVD is disappointingly barren of extras, not to mention in the barbaric fullscreen format, but for any true Ernest fan, this film is still a must have! A fantastic ride from start to finish!

Also recommended: "Ernest Scared Stupid," "Ernest Saves Christmas," "Ernest Goes to Camp," "Jury Duty," "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "Ace Venture: When Nature Calls," "Peewee's Big Adventure," "Big-Top Peewee," "Slam Dunk Ernest," "Ernest Goes to School," "Ernest Rides Again," "Ernest Goes to Africa," and "Ernest in the Army."

Funny movie, but disappointing DVD. .......2005-07-21

Jim Varney gives a somewhat "different" performance in this particular Ernest movie. He plays Ernest to a T with the madcap physical comedy mixed with some oddly intelligent (yet stupid... weird eh?) dialog. Only this time Varney gets to stretch his acting a bit by playing some different characters. Well... one different character. The rest are Ernest doing impersonations. Still this is a treat for any fan of slapstick comedy.

Varney's new character, Felix Nash, is a hardened criminal and Jim does a good job with the differences between Felix and Ernest. You still see much of Varney's signature facial expressions on this new character, however there is enough in the subtle differences that make it convincing. You also get to see Auntie Nelda of Varney's TV show make an appearance. A very funny character indeed. Top it all off with Ernest making impressions on various movie characters and you get a lot of Jim Varney talent in one movie.

As others have said this movie is a laugh riot, but don't expect sophisticated comedy. This is comedy with crazy and unrealistic things happening, jokes that don't require too much thought, and Varneys classic takes on camera. You also get Ernest regulars Chuck and Bobby as overzealous bank security guards, and add so much flavor and additional laughs as well.

Okay enough about the movie itself, which is funny and family friendly. This DVD is just wasted potential if you ask me. For one it's done in full screen, not widescreen. That in of itself is insulting considering how easy it is to put in both if they wanted to. Also the picture isn't exactly digital quality. I'm not going to fault them for not spending money to do a digital cleanup, but no widescreen?

Anothing thing I find rather disturbing is I know for a fact there is some additional footage (a few minutes of funny stuff at least) not seen in the theaters. They have shown this "director's cut" on television from time to time so I also know there is a workable print of this additional footage. This DVD doesn't have it. Which I find more disappointing than anything else. I mean TNT is showing this cut!! It's like Disney just doesn't care at all about this DVD they released.

In short the movie is great. The DVD is sorely lacking. Good thing it's considered one of those "value" DVD's that cost less than $10. If you don't have this movie on VHS then I still recommend getting it for the price. If you do I would wait until the idiots at Buena Vista finally make a decent DVD.

Ernest Goes to Jail, Ernest Scared Stupid, Ernest Saves Christmas 3 DVD Set

Average customer rating:

Ernest Goes to Jail, Ernest Scared Stupid, Ernest Saves Christmas 3 DVD Set

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Slam Dunk Ernest
Essential Ernest Collection
Ernest Goes to Camp
Ernest Rides Again
Dr. Otto & the Riddle of the Gloom Beam

Product Features:

Factory Sealed!
Ernest Saves Christmas (Widescreen)
Ernest Goes to Jail (Full Screen)
Ernest Scared Stupid (Full Screen)

ASIN: B000MIM94U

Product Description

3 Great DVD's for 1 low price! Each DVD is in its own DVD case with cover art.

Average customer rating:

jim varney and company are seriously underrated
IF KIDS VOTED ON THE MAJOR FILM AWARDS 'ERNEST GOES TO JAIL' WOULD HAVE WON MANY AWARDS
You like Ernest?
The Quintessential Ernest Film!
Funny movie, but disappointing DVD.

Ernest Goes to Jail [Region 2]
Starring: Jim Varney , Gailard Sartain , Bill Byrge , Barbara Tyson , and Barry Scott
Director: John R. Cherry III
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( E ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Family Films | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Ernest Goes to Camp
Ernest Saves Christmas
Ernest Scared Stupid
Slam Dunk Ernest
Ernest in the Army

ASIN: B0001MIQK8

Customer Reviews:

jim varney and company are seriously underrated.......2007-04-08

IF KIDS VOTED ON THE MAJOR FILM AWARDS 'ERNEST GOES TO JAIL' WOULD HAVE WON MANY AWARDS.......2006-10-27

You like Ernest?.......2006-07-25

The Quintessential Ernest Film!.......2006-01-19

Funny movie, but disappointing DVD. .......2005-07-21

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