Looking Back at ‘Ernest Goes to Jail’ 30 Years Later

“I came! I saw! I got blowed up!” -Ernest P. Worrell

Following the successful releases of the first two Ernest films, Ernest Goes to Camp (1987) and Ernest Saves Christmas (1988), it was time to send “Mister Funny-Man” behind bars. Ernest Goes to Jail was released on April 6, 1990, and would be the last time an Ernest film was a hit at the box office, despite the next title, Ernest Scared Stupid (1991), being a fan-favorite today.

Playing the titular character was the late Jim Varney, who sadly passed away from lung cancer on February 10, 2000. He began playing Ernest for various TV ads for a Tennessee ad agency before making a cameo as Ernest in the Varney-starring film Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam (1986). Ernest also briefly, yet memorably, made it into the “Saturday morning cartoons” rotation on CBS with the sketch comedy show Hey Vern, It’s Ernest! (1988). However, it is the first four Ernest films that truly brought about his mainstream fame.

Directed by John R. Cherry III and written by Charlie Cohen, Ernest Goes to Jail takes the supernatural whimsy we see in Ernest Saves Christmas and heads into the realm of superheroes and evil villains. Ernest, now a night custodian for a bank, is ordered to serve in jury duty when the defendant in the trial notices that Ernest and his pal, convicted death row convict Felix Nash (also played by Jim Varney), look identical. Together, the convicts hatch a plan to swap Nash for Ernest, which is successful, sending Ernest to death row. Nash takes over as bank custodian, acting as a creep to Ernest’s fellow bank employee, Charlotte (Barbara Tyson), and plots to steal the contents of the vault. Despite his pleas of innocence, Ernest is sent to the electric chair, which fails and instead gives him superpowers, allowing him to take down Nash and reclaim his life.

This is the first and only time Varney plays a villain within the series, and does well at showing off his acting chops. As someone who is known for playing a dimwitted man-child, Nash is a stark contrast and brings meanness, and even creepiness, to the film. For this writer, it was actually strange to see Varney in that light at first as a kid. At times, it was even easy to forget it was the same actor.

“Don’t worry about that diet, tubby. Once I set this fuse, you’ll lose all that weight.” -Felix Nash

Despite claiming the number 3 spot at the box office, with ticket sales of $6.1 million, it was no surprise that critics were not quite impressed. Most were not fans of the first two titles, with the Chicago Tribune even commenting in their Jail review at the time, “Watching it is almost like being entertained, instead of like spending 88 minutes with your least favorite relative.” Yikes.

Movie Facts

Jim Varney showed off his range of famous actor impressions while in jail, including Sylvester Stallone, James Cagney, and Humphrey Bogart.
This would be the last time Gailard Sartain took on the role of Chuck, who also appeared in Hey, Vern, It’s Ernest! and Ernest Saves Christmas. Although Chuck wasn’t in Ernest Goes to Camp, Sartain did star as camp chef Jake.
This would be the first time Bobby, played by Bill Byrge, actually speaks.
A rebel flag can be seen hanging on the wall in Ernest’s jail cell, which he shares with Lyle, played by Randall “Tex” Cobb.

Ernest’s Best Quotes

“Did you hear the one about the three legged dog that walked into a bar and said, ‘I’m lookin’ for the guy that shot my paw.'”
“Real men are not intimidated by physical threats against their personal selves, and, ironically, neither am I.”
“I’ve been vandalized…by Elvis!”
“Death row? You mean like the chair, the hot seat, dead meat, deep 6, it’s over pal, you’re outta here bub, the groundhogs are bringing you your mail, you’re picking turnips with a step ladder, the no tomorrow row? That kind of row? Oh no. The row?”
“What kind of person would throw away a perfectly good dog”

Following Ernest Goes to Jail, Varney went on to star in six more Ernest films, with the last four being direct-to-video releases: