Probably the best Ernest film featuring Jim Varney, mainly because it wisely features the lovable doofus during the Christmas season, complete with a retiring Santa, reindeer that leap from floor to roof at the postal warehouse, two elves arriving at the airport and eventually to accompany Ernest on a world trip (and around the world!), the sleigh and its "air brakes", and an actor often associated with the role of Santa looking to expand on his career through the aid of his encouraging agent (to star in a monster movie with gratuitous violence and foul language!). Oh, and you can't forget the red sack with its magic powers to provide gifts to all kids, falling into the unfortunate possession of Ernest and a teen runaway, Harmony (Noelle Parker), who has lost her belief in Santa. Ernest pulling wacky novelties out of the bag, forgetting the names of reindeer when he is needing to get the sleigh to Santa at a particular museum, his disastrous transportation of trees at the beginning of the film, his oddball array of disguises (yes, the old lady in a cast is among them, as is my favorite, a snake-handler, including a slick-haired administrative employee for the Governor), the chaotic trip to Vern's house (he's quite the party pooper, delivering a tree that wreaks havoc and pulling a electrical wire right out of the wall), and his flexy-face expressions (he mimics John Wayne and often goes into deep voice when "getting serious"), along with "witticisms" (he gets in the "ewwww", does his eyebrow and chin back and forth while quoting such gems as "the end of mankind as we know it"), are included for the character's major fans (for which I was one as a kid). I do think the final fifteen or so minutes, when Ernest is in charge of the sleigh and reindeer as the elves accompany him, is the film at its funniest. Noelle has good chemistry with Varney as does Douglas Seale (who perfectly twinkles, has just the right amount of cheery cheeked appeal, and just enough belly, at just the right age for a Santa needing to pass on the job to a fresh candidate) as the Santa needing to locate Oliver Clark's Joe Carruthers, hoping to convince him that he's to be the next in line for the role of Old Saint Nick. Gailard Sartain (with his pingpong eyes) and Bill Byrge (with his bird-still visage) as the postal workers on Christmas Eve complement the film's overall cheesy nature. Robert Lesser, as the driven agent desperate to get Joe to take the monster film series (who even has Seale imprisoned!), and the ultra sweet Billie Bird (if there is a bit for twinkle-eyed scene stealing old ladies she was one of the top of her profession at that time) round out the cast. Bird and Seale are a delight together. Santa not giving up on Harmony or Joe, Ernest, despite his best intentions often resulting in mayhem, corralling the reindeer and sleigh by film's end, and Joe deciding that bringing cheer to children was worth more than profitability in a film career are highlights. I admit that a lot of the appeal of this film is Varney's various facial expressions and off-the-cuff (seemingly) improvised zingers...Varney is an acquired taste, so there will be many who just think he's too silly to even bother with. And the film can get downright nonsensical...this, in my opinion, will divide those who love it and those who will just find it obnoxious. Probably not a Christmas classic in the minds of anyone but us Ernest fans.
Review of Ernest Saves Christmas
