Slam Dunk Ernest

Like what was said with 'Ernest Goes to School', just need to make things clear about not being a detractor of the character of Ernest or his films. Actually consider most of the films imperfect but fun in a guilty pleasure sort of way.

However, even when judging it for what it was meant to be and being more than willing to go against the grain and defend it like with most of the previous outings, 'Slam Dunk Ernest' is to me one of the weaker 'Ernest' films. Not terrible and there are far worse films out there, but to me the series lost its charm and lost steam in the 90s and when it went straight to video rather than released theatrically.

'Slam Dunk Ernest' does have its good qualities. The best things about it are the music and Jim Varney. The music is full of rocking energy and affectionate nostalgia and really adds a great deal to the action in the film. It's hard still not to relate to Ernest, the sort of character that is a well-intended serial bumbler with a well-meaning big strong heart but always finding himself messing up without intention.

Varney is fun and likable in the role, to me there is enough freshness in the interpretation to not make it too tired or endless mugging and his performance does give the film much needed energy. Some of the dialogue while not exactly sophisticated is funny and there are a few scenes that raise a laugh. One does see glimpses of the fun and danger of the sport of basketball, and the moral does give the film some heart.

On the other hand, too much of the humour doesn't work this time, with it having a recycled feel, being crudely puerile and, even for an 'Ernest' film but here turned up maximum notches, is incredibly childish. Other than Varney, the acting is poor, with a mix of non-trying and being annoying.

Unfortunately the story and pacing are done in a way that doesn't make the above forgivable. The story is wafer thin and contrived, with a muddled, clumsily written subplot that feels out of place within the film. Too often it doesn't know what to do with itself, cueing some aimless stretches and pacing that begged for a steroid shot. The sentimentality also gets too much, and the whole film looks cheap and ineptly directed and choreographed.

In conclusion, not terrible but really isn't one of the better 'Ernest' films. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Slam Dunk Ernest is not the best of the Ernest movies, but it's not the worst either. The story has Ernest P. Worrell being given a special pair of shoes by the Archangel of Basketball (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) that make him a basketball star. His fellow teammates are shocked and delighted, but Ernest is tempted by the 'dark side' and gets little to into his role as a star. In the end, Ernest makes the right decision he always does. Jim Varney is the best thing in this movie, though the supporting cast does a good job. This movie has the charm of the Ernest movies, but doesn't compare to Ernest Goes to Jail or Ernest Scared Stupid. But I still recommend it.

Clearly, the straight to video route had a little effect on the production value of this movie, but it still proved to be the most interesting of the series. Ernest, with his 70s-style motif and impeccable ability to score at will, proved to be an unusual turn in the series. Kareem Abdul Jabbar made a great cameo. While this wasn't the best in the series, it still ranks as the third best, which isn't too bad.

After the first few Ernest movies caught people's attention in theaters, there were a few that went straight to video. "Slam Dunk Ernest" is the only one that I've seen. It depicts the lovable dimwit getting a pair of basketball shoes from an angel who looks strangely like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with the warning not to misuse them.

Quite frankly, I think that they could have ended the series with "Ernest Rides Again" and not made this one. It's not terrible, but I doubt that Jim Varney truly wanted to end his life having made a series of straight-to-video flicks, especially such absurd ones. As for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, I still like to think of him as Roger Murdock. Or as the crier in "The Stand".

PS: Miguel A. Núñez, Jr, played Spider in "Return of the Living Dead".

Ernest is a janitor with a team that cleans the local mall. The rest of the janitors also play basketball in the city league as `Clean Sweep'. When Ernest saves their jobs by accepting blame for an accident they reluctantly agree to have him on their team. After losing them their next game, Ernest is dejected until an angel gives him magic shoes that make him an amazing player. However this causes friction in the team as the chance to play a NBA team looms.

I watched this Ernest movie because I like basketball and I hoped that the game action would cover me just enough to get through the film. However it didn't. The plot here is bad even by Ernest standards. The usual device of the magic shoes isn't used well – I've seen other basketball movies where a kid is blessed in some way and starts playing in the majors – but here it was all dull and unimaginative. Even things like the way the `love interest' goes from bookish newsagent to vamp in one scene with no explanation or reason – it just happens!

The background story of `effort and work over flashy shoes' is really bungled and doesn't come across well at all. The background characters becoming bitter at Ernest hogging the ball is also only played at the very end and isn't used well at all. The basketball games are very poor. Obiviously when Ernest is soaring through the air in absurd ways it's going to be, but even the actual games before he plays are careless – back passes, no 3 point line (although they still score 3's) things like that just show how shoddy it is. The actual shots of Ernest playing are also poor – they get a smile, but they clearly wanted to cut costs so the same shots of him jumping and dunking are used several times over.

Varney is unlikable. Ernest is meant to be a loveable loser we all root for – like Norman Wisdom used to play. However Varney is just plain annoying – when things happen to him you can't help but think `hope that hurt' and I never care if he comes good in the end or not! The actual team are very ethnic – like they were told to overplay the whole black thing! However some ar so-so. Cozart has to carry the moral message himself and does alright while some other faces are familiar from much better fare (Núñez Jnr), and really Abdul-Jabbar, good movie doing Airplane but what are you doing here – the fact that he is in this film is reason enough for us to pay NBA stars big wages now so that they don't come back and take bad acting jobs after they retire.

Overall this made me smile twice and that's it. I know it's for kids but this is too basic for kids. Varney's clowning isn't enough and the lame attempt to wring a message out of it is weak at best.