I know I’m behind schedule and I should have just written all these drafts earlier in the year, but I didn’t so here we are. Anyway, on the 6th(ish) day of Christmas…
Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
Director: John R. Cherry III | Writers: B. Kline, Ed Turner (story)
Stars: Jim Varney, Douglas Seale, Oliver Clark
Ernest helps Santa Claus as he searches for his successor.
-IMDB
Santa is retiring and looking for the next one to take up the mantle. Is that going to be Ernest? Well, no. Not exactly. However, our familiar hero does step in to help Santa and literally takes the reigns at one point to save the day.
This is the second feature-length movie in the Ernest-verse and is regarded by many to be the best of them, although I will always be partial to Ernest Scared Stupid. I think Christmas sort of happens to have the right tonal spirit to fit the kind of goofy-but-endearing comedy that director John R. Cherry III and Jim Varney specialized in.
When the would-be Santa gets into some legal trouble, Ernest is left as the only one who can really help. Varney always did a great job with the character and that’s why Ernest went on to have 7 more movies after this one, but some of Varney’s best work was as the other character’s in the Ernest-verse.
As simple and gimmicky as it may be, Varney always brought a lot of heart and genuine enthusiasm to his characters. There’s a reason that Ernest was something of a cultural phenomenon despite the movies being mostly regarded as bad.
Recommendation: If you are looking for something Christmassy, that isn’t horror or rom-com related, this is actually a really solid pick that is suitable for the family. It’s dated, but charming.
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