And as I continue to relive my childhood..
Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
Directed By: John R. Cherry III (Earnest Scared Stupid)
The Prologue
Ernest P. Worrell was a bit of a local hero for any Tennessean. The character made famous by the late and great, Jim Varney, originated in the Nashville area when he use to shill local adds and then eventually bigger products such as Sprite and Mellow Yellow. The guy went on to connect with mostly kids worldwide, but just about everyone who was southern resident. This would lead to full length films that started out as straight to video releases but ended up being theatrical ones. In the year 1988, the wolrd got another Christmas themed film that would go on to be essential viewing for many each year following in, Ernest Saves Christmas. You have stuff like, It’s A Wonderful Life, Christmas Vacation, and so on and so forth, but next to, A Christmas Story, this was IT for me on Christmas. So please pardon me if my nostalgia might make me slightly more favorable to this than your average person.
The Movie
A man who claims to be Santa Claus (Douglas Seale) arrives in town looking to find his replacement. Along the way he gets help from the loveable Earnest P. Worrell (Jim Varney) befriends a run away who says she is named Harmony Starr (Noelle Parker). They then start a race against time to get actor, Joe Carruthers (Oliver Clark) to take over the gig and to save Christmas! Will they make it in time? And will you be able to get all nostalgic and merry as it happens?..I admit, I felt like I was four again.
What you have here is a movie that won’t be for everyone. Teens these days might actually think it’s “lame” or “stupid”. But if you are a child or someone who was a child when this movie came out, odds are you already hold a torch in your very soul for this movie and love it to spite any faults it might have (and it does have a few). While logic was never the strong selling point of a movie featuring Earnest, good nature, caring, and (in this particular film) the spirit of Christmas is in full force. And it gets served up to you in a fashion that makes it impossible not to feel childish or smile while actor Jim Varney proceeds to give us every vintage Earnest line in the book. And while all have been heard a zillion times over, it never gets old. Just like this movie never gets old.
This film is also blessed to have one of the best on screen Santas you find in, Douglas Seale. As Santa runs the hard task of trying to convince people he is indeed who he says he is, we feel bad for him when he winds up in jam after jam. Seeing Santa go from being called crazy to being locked up in jail is a very hard thing to watch, even when it’s in a fun nature. Thank goodness we have our wacky hero of sorts, Earnest, here to run to the rescue. And with all this is going down the film proceeds to give us memorable moment after moment involving reindeer, elves, and pretty much every well known Earnest character there is. A list that is including but not limited to, “Vern”, Lloyd Worrell, and the wacky duo of Chuck and Bob…Ah, good times!
While the end results of this film may never for a second be in question, it’s just too much trouble to find a reason to dislike it. It’s like your idiot cousin, it’s silly, probably more annoying than you’d like to admit, but with all it’s issues you still love it anyway. And just like that example would show, it feels like family. Especially if you were lucky enough to grow up with it. The film has a plot that makes you feel like a kid again while watching and it’s also backed up by great character actors and a great meaning. If you want to just see something that makes you feel good and merry this time of year, watch Ernest Saves Christmas.
The Conclusion
As we all grow older and older with each passing year, it can at times be a little hard to remember what it was like to be a kid around Christmas time. I mean we face real problems such as bills and God knows what else. But, this movie can make you forget things for a while, or at least it did for me and I’m sure it will for many of you too. As childish as it can be, Earnest Saves Christmas is one of the best Christmas movies I think we could ask for.
The Rating (8/10)
Chucks website
