Ernest Movies

While on Paternity leave with the girls I had a lot of time on my hands. One of the things I might have wasted my time on was watching every single Ernest Film....yep.

So today I want to rank them in order of worst to best!

My least favorite and the last one to be a feature film before the rest of his movies went direct to video. I remember when this hit theaters I thought it looked like garbage and 2 weeks later it wasn't even playing in our theater. Now after seeing it I know why.

It looks like a TV movie with no budget. I'm shocked they even though this was worth a theatrical release! But I think I know the answer to this low budget film that I'll discuss later.

When Ernest went Direct to Video his movies kept dropping in quality. Such is the case for this stinker which has its story line held together by a paper clip and chewing gum. It's so bad even the horrible cover can't hide how awful this movie is.

It was the last Ernest movie ever made before the actor died a year later. To be honest, I didn't even know about this one when I started on my journey through his films. Oddly enough, it does give a good ending to Ernest who (after several movies) finally settles on having a girlfriend in the end and is even given a thoughtful sunset farewell at the end.

It was so good, i wondered if the actor had died and the scene was added post-production. But it wasn't. The movie isn't that good and was made on the cheap, but it at least beats the other two that were previously mentioned.

His first featured film isn't that good surprisingly (and let's be honest, none of his films were that good to start with, but the character is entertaining and at the time his gags had traction in that era of film making) I was shocked to see how unfunny this one truly was.

I remember seeing this in a video store years ago when I was in highschool or college and thought "He's still making movies?!" I passed it up but it's not that bad of a film. Ernest is given magic basketball shoes to improve his game and catapult his fame. The love interest in the film was the most shocking turn of all, when she goes to sweet shy to all of money grubbing villain in the end!

I was shocked to see such a heel turn in a movie that shouldn't be that smart. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a movie where the female love interest turn evil in the end. Kudos for originality. The movie is above watchable and actually had me laughing in a few spots!

 It took me a while to realize this was the last Ernest movie I watched before giving up on the series. It was supposed to come out in theaters soon after "Ernest Rides Again" In fact, there was even a preview "teaser" scene at the end of "Rides Again" where Ernest lets you know he'll be back next year for class!

But when Rides Again tanked they sent this one straight to video and it's a shame because it's a much better movie than Rides Again. My theory is, they were trying to save money and made 2 movies for the price of one. But released Rides Again first. The problem was, it looks like Goes to School had a bigger budget. It looked much better than Rides Again and was more entertaining too!

They really screwed the pooch not getting this one out before Rides Again. I think this would've made more money in theaters for sure if they'd had!

Another one I'd completely forgotten about until I watched it again. In the story, Santa is retiring after 100 year and Ernest is helping him track down his replacement. As a Xmas movie it's pretty good! Another surprise hit and one of his best in the series for sure. It was his second movie in the series.

Man this is where it gets hard. This movie had me laughing in theaters back in the day and I still remembered those lines we used to quote as kids watching it again today. The production on this one it stellar too! Everything looks great! The Troll in the movie is perfect! Best looking film out of the entire series! It was a close 2nd and almost 1st but...

Nothing beats this one. The thing that makes it so good is the security guards Hank and Bobby who steal the scenes whenever they hit the screen. Sadly, these two never team up again after Scared Stupid, though Bobby does return for one film. I don't know why that was and no one on the internet  seems to care so I guess I'll never know but I'd love to find out one day!

Ok folks, that's all for now!