Ernest Goes to Jail

Ernest Goes to Jail
Theatrical Release Poster
Directed by	John R. Cherry III
Written by	Charlie Cohen
Produced by	Martin Erlichman
Starring	Jim Varney Gailard Sartain Bill Byrge
Cinematography	Peter Stein
Edited by	Sharyn L. Ross
Music by	Bruce Arntson Kirby Shelstad
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures Silver Screen Partners IV
Release dates	April 6, 1990 (Theatrical) September 3, 2002 (DVD release)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	Template:Film US
Language	English
Budget	$6,143,372
Box office	$25,029,569 (domestic sub-total)

Ernest Goes to Jail is a 1990 Touchstone Pictures film directed by John R. Cherry III and starring Jim Varney. It is the fourth film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell. It was shot in Nashville and Tennessee State Penitentiary. This is the second most successful of the Ernest films, behind Ernest Saves Christmas. It was in third place during its opening weekend, earning $6,143,372. Total gross was $25,029,569.

Plot

Security guards Chuck (Gailard Sartain) and Bobby play the game of Red light/Green light while being night watchmen for Howard County Bank and Trust and are obsessed with elaborate schemes of would-be thieves. They hear a sound coming from a vacuum cleaner that Ernest is trying to turn on for operation and dreams that he would be a clerk, but he ends up making a mess in the bank and he becomes magnetic. The next day, Oscar Pendlesmythe's assistant, Charlotte Sparrow (Barbara Tyson) requires him to clean up his supernatural mess. Pendlesmythe wants to fire him, but Charlotte has a soft heart for misfits and stray dogs, so she argues on his behalf. Ernest takes a bath at home in a tumble dry washing machine and uses a blow-dryer with a wind-tunnel force for his evening dinner with Charlotte in a restaurant. He later receives an invitation to jury duty in court and tells the two watchmen about it. Dracup Maximum Security Prison convict Rubin Bartlett notices that Worrell is the spitting-image of death-row inmate Felix Nash. Rubin convinces the jury to tour the prison, where Ernest is kidnapped and forced to swap roles with Nash. Even though he tries to tell the guards he is not Nash, they refuse to believe him. Ernest also does not know that he has a death sentence which is for Nash. While having lunch, a guard tells them to stand up and be quiet, when he notices Ernest is making a lot of noise, which almost sends him into the cell. Ernest tries a first attempt to tell one of the security guards that he is Ernest, not Nash, but the guard calls him "Mr. Funny Man" (which is a mistaken lie) and angrily says that he is not funny and is lying and throws him into the cell right in front of a cell mate who pushes him back while the first attempt fails. When he pushes him near the prison bars, he tells a security guard that he was beaten up, (and accidentally slamming the guards head on the bars) he is sent to the hole, which makes Ernest realize he is in jail. He has various misadventures in prison (especially when trying to escape, e.g., when he attempts to fashion a gun out of soap and his scheme is revealed when the gun goes limp) until he is sent to the electric chair by the prison warden (Charles Napier). The electrocution fails, and he is transformed into a type of superhuman, with the ability to shoot lightning bolts from his hands, which shock various other jail members. Ernest escapes from the prison and makes his way home, only to discover that his Pee-wee Herman-like décor has been replaced by a slick Lounge Lizard style of decorating. He exclaims, "I've been vandalized - by Elvis!" Ernest then goes to the bank, in his old clothes, where he works as a janitor, only to find that Nash has assumed his identity and is in the process of robbing the bank. He uses his super powers to fly through the skylight of the bank with a bomb that Nash had attached to the vault and two bank employees, which leads to a spectacular mid-air explosion. Everyone especially Chuck assumes that Ernest has been killed, until he falls through the skylight and lands on Nash. Ernest tiredly declares, "I came, I saw, I died.

Cast

• Jim Varney — Ernest P. Worrell, Felix Nash, Auntie Nelda
• Gailard Sartain — Chuck
• Bill Byrge — Bobby
• Barbara Tyson — Charlotte Sparrow (as Barbara Bush)
• Barry Scott — Rubin Bartlett
• Randall "Tex" Cobb — Lyle
• Dan Leegant — Oscar Pendlesmythe
• Charles Napier — Warden
• Jackie Welch — Judge
• Jim Conrad — Eddie
• Melanie Wheeler — Prosecutor
• Jeffrey Buckner Ford — Defense Attorney (as Buck Ford)
• Daniel Butler — Waiter
• Charlie Lamb — Another Con
• Mac Bennett — Con
• Rick Schulman — Mean Guard
• Bruce Arntson — Juror
• Andy Stahl — Jerry (as Andrew Stahl)
• Bob Babbitt — Washing Con
• Myke R. Mueller — Vinnie (as Myke Mueller)
• John Davis — Other Guard
• Michael Montgomery — Warden's Assistant
• Mike Hutchinson — Gate Guard
• Badd Catt — Jail Guard (uncredited)
• Chambers Stevens — Jury Man (uncredited)
• Paul Pigue — Spider (arm wrestler) (uncredited)

Reception

The movie gained a negative reception from critics.

References

This film was soo cool!!!! LOLZ!

External links

• Ernest Goes to Jail at IMDb
• Ernest Goes to Jail at Box Office Mojo