Ernest Rides Again

Ernest Rides Again is an excellent film. Jim Varney gives another great performance as Ernest P. Worrell, the foolish but lovable average joe. The story is much more solid and serious that the previous films. But that doesn't mean that there aren't any laughs to be had in this film. Clearly, a great Ernest movie.

Not as funny as camp scared stupid jail or the christmas one but much better than some of the later ones in thearmy school and africa. The opening theme song was funny has funny bits n some funny lines love the line where he says im one just step away from being a cartoon charector. I missed huch and bobby n he on the cannon for too long. But its funny enough to please ernest fand and i am one as a child of the 80s i grew up with ernest. Its somewhere in the middle of the ernest films better than not as funny as some. If havent seen an ernest film before i would not say satrt with start with this one. Id say start with t christmas and scared stupid. I miss jim varney. I wonder what hed doing if he were alive.

With the 'Ernest' film series, there are people who get much entertainment out of them and finds a lot of appeal in Ernest. There are also people who dislike, or even outright hate, the films and find the character annoying. Both viewpoints are understandable.

For me, while they are not great films, the 'Ernest' films are mostly silly harmless fun that don't try to be any more than they need to be, and should be taken for what they are, rather than having any stereotypical notion of what a film of a certain genre or overall ought to do. They're mostly uneven but entertaining in a guilty pleasure sort of way, and Ernest is the sort of the character one can relate to easily. The sort of character that is a well-intended serial bungler with a strong heart but always finding himself messing up.

To me, the series' fifth film 'Ernest Rides Again' is an entertaining and worthy entry, if rather uneven. It's hardly one of the worst of the series, but to me there are better films too, such as the previous three films after 'Ernest Goes to Camp' (so 'Saves Christmas', 'Goes to Jail' and 'Scared Stupid').

'Ernest Rides Again' wasn't perfect from personal opinion. The final scenes are clumsily staged and improbable, even for an 'Ernest' film, while the villains are weakly and repetitively characterised (to me Tom Butler was slumming it and didn't really pose that much of an antagonist).

Character of Abner had his moments, he is more the straight-man guy and it's in these moments where the characterisation fares best, but the film also has a brasher side that jars and doesn't fit as a partner for Ernest or in the film. Ron James does play him well all things considered. Some of the physical comedy is a little childish and rather crude which also sticks out like a sore thumb.

However, 'Ernest Rides Again' is one of the better-looking 'Ernest' films. Loved the colourful locations and the photography is nowhere near as cheap and hasty as it can be. The soundtrack is nostalgic and energetic, and there are some very funny (if not particularly, but pretty much deliberately so, sophisticated) lines and wonderfully manic gags, anything with the cannon being among the highlights.

Another thing that 'Ernest Rides Again' does better than most other 'Ernest' films is that there is more story here and generally, apart from at the end, it takes itself more seriously, with more of a serious tone, which can be seen in the sincere and important (if not exactly subtle) moral. The energy levels are still high.

Jim Varney is still very funny and likable and James does quite well with a character that could have been better and more consistently written. Linda Kash is an amusing scene-stealer. It was only really with the villains where there were signs of bad acting, this said that may be just me.

Overall, entertaining if uneven. 6/10 Bethany Cox

The final Ernest movie released in theaters is all about the cannon ride. Like the previous movies, it's an excuse for Jim Varney (who was also known as the voice of Slink in "Toy Story") to be silly in the role of the gold-hearted dimwit. I was never really a fan of the Ernest movies, but they were always good for a laugh. The cannon ride in "Ernest Rides Again" is entertaining enough. The rest of the movie doesn't quite equal it, though. Ever since Varney died, I've wondered if he felt content only being known as the lovable, buffoonish hick. Sure, it left him with a cult following, but wouldn't he have wanted something more than that? Anyway, this movie is nice, cheap entertainment.

This was probably one of the better "Ernest" movies in that it moves fast which means it's pretty entertaining without being too stupid, as some of Jim Varney movies were. However, even this you can except a lot of "stupid" but some of that is part of Varney's charm as the lovable "Ernest P. Worrell," a man he made famous first with TV commercials and then with a handful of inane-but- Innocent comedies.

This 100-minute film would have much better chopped to 80 or 85 because there are some legitimate laugh-out-loud scenes. Varney does a lot of impressions, some of which are very good. The two nerdy salesmen in here are also funny. As with all the "Ernest" films, there is nothing really offensive in here. Today, this could almost be rated "G."