That was an excellent one.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Ernest Saves Christmas (1988): Dir: John R. Cherry III / Cast: Jim Varney, Douglas Seale, Oliver Clark, Noelle Parker, Gailard Sartain: Easily the best Ernest P. Worrell comedy in a series that are largely mediocre. The plot here is more appealing than the average Ernest film. Douglas Seale plays Saint Nick searching for his replacement. He sights a kids entertainer played by Oliver Clark and is aided by Ernest for assistance. There is a subplot involving a runaway teenage girl whom Ernest shelters. She goes through Santa's big red sack, emptying it of its endless contents. How that works is not explained especially when factoring the ratio of children in the world. Maybe we are suppose to just buy the whole magic thing. The conclusion is a farce with reindeer operating like a jet plane but director John R. Cherry 3rd gives the film heart. Production is okay and Jim Varney is funny as Ernest who incorporates wild antics in his attempts to help Santa. Seale makes for an excellent Santa. Clark brings warmth and goodness as the entertainer wrestling with contract issues. Noelle Parker plays the teenage runaway who must comes to terms with decisions that led to her current lifestyle. Gailard Sartain and Bill Byrge are funny as two security guards overwhelmed with surprise packages. Nothing more than an Ernest film but it is a definite cut above the others. Score: 6 / 10

I find this movie to be a great movie that I like to watch every Christmas. It moves along at a nice pace and is pretty good to watch. I've never actually seen another Ernest movies, but I have to imagine that they would probably be good movies too. Parts of it may seem stupid, but they really aren't. It's very enjoyable with a good plot, even if it borrows from basic Christmas movies a little. One may thus find some of what's in the movie obvious, but it is hard to find better Christmas movies to watch on a regular basis. If you have not seen it before, I highly recommend it. You might enjoy it too. I don't think that one can regret seeing this movie because it is enjoyable for all ages. It can just be a little strange, but what were you expecting from an Ernest movie anyways?

Ahhh, Christmas 2013. I had to revisit a childhood favorite of mine: Ernest Saves Christmas. I haven't seen this for over twenty years and remember loving and re-watching it so many times back in the late 80s.You know (Vern,) watching these Ernest movies as an adult, it's not quite the same effect as viewing them through the eyes of a child. Recently, I've been revisiting three of the four I loved (or liked) as a child: Ernest Goes to Camp, Ernest Saves Christmas and Ernest Scared Stupid. (I have yet to re-watch Ernest Goes to Jail, and I will soon. I do have that on BluRay now, and that was my personal favorite as a child with this holiday special as #2.) And, boy, I can see how I liked them in my youth, and they do have some absolute humor that translates to adults, but they are over-the-top silly at times.That said, there's a purity to them. Ernest, er, the late and great Jim Varney, has such a heart and kept everything in his act and movies clean. I like that. In fact, I'm surprised these movies are rated as high as PG. Honestly, there's nothing, and rightfully so, in them that should offend anyone. Thank you, Mr. Varney.Here, in Ernest Saves Christmas, Ernest, the G-Rated, but somewhat unsafe, taxi driver gets mixed up with the real Santa Claus as he's on a mission to pass the torch onto a new Santa as the "magic is up."Naturally, things are a lot more complicated as they appear and Ernest screws up a lot, but in the end, there's the heart and soul of Ernest P. Worrell who brings it all together.While not perfect, you gotta admire it for its simplicity in a complicated film. One can criticize Varney's odd facial expressions and zoom-ins or even dislike them. But, he had a heart and he set out to make a (what I think should be a G-Rated) special Christmas movie. Mission: Accomplished.* * * Final thoughts: Don't get me wrong. This movie is way silly. And I had to endure a few too many "made-for-younger-crowds" scenes, like eyes darting back and forth as a gag. It's okay to get past that when you know the core audience. I wish these movies, the Ernest series, would come back for the next generation so they can appreciate more family-friendly, (should be!) G-rated fare.

When I was a kid, this movie and Ernest Goes to Camp tied as my favorites. Jim Varney was an incredibly talented actor, and his Ernest character was his way of taking a break from more serious pursuits. It's rare today to find even a Christmas movie that's not filled with bad language, sexual innuendo, and other filth- but every Ernest movie is 100% clean, family-friendly fun. As an example I cite the character in this movie (forget his or the actor's name, it's been ages) who used to host a children's show, but got a part in a movie and couldn't bring himself to say a certain line with a bad word, because he couldn't stand to think of the children hearing him say it. That wasn't just that character's attitude, it was Jim Varney's as well. Varney was a chain smoker- however he would never light up if there was a child around. And he refused to use foul language. I think Varney also made a nod to the state of movies with his Mr. Apopka the snake handler character in this movie- "That's all these Hollywood folk want. Poison!" Speaking of characters, Jim's various personifications always had me rolling on the floor. In this movie the best was definitely the old lady. Anyway, I think any viewer with children who is looking for some clean, funny movies for the kids, would do well to rent this one or any of the Ernest movies.