Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Captivating movie !

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Ernest Saves Christmas (1988): Dir: John R. Cherry III / Cast: Jim Varney, Douglas Seale, Oliver Clark, Noelle Parker, Gailard Sartain: Easily the best Ernest P. Worrell comedy in a series that are largely mediocre. The plot here is more appealing than the average Ernest film. Douglas Seale plays Saint Nick searching for his replacement. He sights a kids entertainer played by Oliver Clark and is aided by Ernest for assistance. There is a subplot involving a runaway teenage girl whom Ernest shelters. She goes through Santa's big red sack, emptying it of its endless contents. How that works is not explained especially when factoring the ratio of children in the world. Maybe we are suppose to just buy the whole magic thing. The conclusion is a farce with reindeer operating like a jet plane but director John R. Cherry 3rd gives the film heart. Production is okay and Jim Varney is funny as Ernest who incorporates wild antics in his attempts to help Santa. Seale makes for an excellent Santa. Clark brings warmth and goodness as the entertainer wrestling with contract issues. Noelle Parker plays the teenage runaway who must comes to terms with decisions that led to her current lifestyle. Gailard Sartain and Bill Byrge are funny as two security guards overwhelmed with surprise packages. Nothing more than an Ernest film but it is a definite cut above the others. Score: 6 / 10

Ahhh, Christmas 2013. I had to revisit a childhood favorite of mine: Ernest Saves Christmas. I haven't seen this for over twenty years and remember loving and re-watching it so many times back in the late 80s.You know (Vern,) watching these Ernest movies as an adult, it's not quite the same effect as viewing them through the eyes of a child. Recently, I've been revisiting three of the four I loved (or liked) as a child: Ernest Goes to Camp, Ernest Saves Christmas and Ernest Scared Stupid. (I have yet to re-watch Ernest Goes to Jail, and I will soon. I do have that on BluRay now, and that was my personal favorite as a child with this holiday special as #2.) And, boy, I can see how I liked them in my youth, and they do have some absolute humor that translates to adults, but they are over-the-top silly at times.That said, there's a purity to them. Ernest, er, the late and great Jim Varney, has such a heart and kept everything in his act and movies clean. I like that. In fact, I'm surprised these movies are rated as high as PG. Honestly, there's nothing, and rightfully so, in them that should offend anyone. Thank you, Mr. Varney.Here, in Ernest Saves Christmas, Ernest, the G-Rated, but somewhat unsafe, taxi driver gets mixed up with the real Santa Claus as he's on a mission to pass the torch onto a new Santa as the "magic is up."Naturally, things are a lot more complicated as they appear and Ernest screws up a lot, but in the end, there's the heart and soul of Ernest P. Worrell who brings it all together.While not perfect, you gotta admire it for its simplicity in a complicated film. One can criticize Varney's odd facial expressions and zoom-ins or even dislike them. But, he had a heart and he set out to make a (what I think should be a G-Rated) special Christmas movie. Mission: Accomplished.* * * Final thoughts: Don't get me wrong. This movie is way silly. And I had to endure a few too many "made-for-younger-crowds" scenes, like eyes darting back and forth as a gag. It's okay to get past that when you know the core audience. I wish these movies, the Ernest series, would come back for the next generation so they can appreciate more family-friendly, (should be!) G-rated fare.

Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Part of my childhood was watching Ernest movies so perhaps my opinions of this film are going to be bias but I'm sure there were many in my same shoes. Even after all these years I remember my parents taking me to the movies to see ERNEST GOES TO CAMP and I remember how happy I was at the age of eight to know this movie here was coming out. As I went to view this movie again, probably my first time in fifteen-years, I wasn't really sure what to expect but it wasn't too bad. The story is quite simple as Ernest picks up Santa Claus at the airport and must help him convince another guy that he's going to be the new Santa. The film certainly didn't thrill me or entertain me as much as when I was a kid but that's to be expected. I'm sure kids today would still eat this film as it's still extremely cute and the message is still there. I'm sure adults will have to be fans of Ernest but I find him charming in his own way. Only Jim Varney could create a character like this and while it's true he's obnoxious, that's kinda the point as the character was aimed at children. With that in mind I think he made a very love able character that many kids will continue to enjoy over the years. Even when I forget that I'm now an adult, the character makes me smile. As for the film, it starts off a lot better than it ends. I think the first thirty-minutes are quite clever as we get a few good twists and the storyline itself, while simple, is still pretty imaginative. I think what really hurts the movie are the cut aways to the Chuck and Bobby characters by series regulars Gailard Sarain and Bill Byrge. The scenes with them and the reindeer's never get any laughs and they really take away from the "action" going on with Ernest and Santa. I think that most people will read the title and know whether or not they'll like this. If you're a fan of Ernest and can take his humor then this is an enjoyable little film. If you're not a fan then you know to stay away.

Maybe "Ernest Saves Christmas" will never be one of the most well-respected holiday comedies ever made. Maybe it didn't win the Best Picture Academy Award. Maybe it isn't a four-star movie or even a very popular one, but it's still a Christmas must every year. Underneath the layers of "Hee-Haw"-level blue-collar humor so synonymous with Ernest is a Christmas movie with heart-- surprising for the classic character. In a funny way, it almost seems like a different take on "Miracle on 34th Street"-- the old man who knows he's Santa Claus and the cynical young girl who says it isn't so. "Ernest Saves Christmas" remains one of the ideal holiday comedies around, whether it was a serious movie or not.