Sorry, this movie sucks

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I loved this movie and the message it was sending. My guess is to why the writers had the Clean Sweep team lay into Ernest like they did was for us to pull for Ernest even harder. Which is, by no means, a hardship for me. I root for Ernest in every movie. I was extremely ticked off by the team mocking Ernest, calling him a 'dumb redneck' and 'whiter than white' or '150 pound Gilligan dodo looking bird'. It made me want to take that basketball and shove it so far up their butts until it popped out of their heads. All Ernest wanted was to be a part of the team. Of course, very reluctantly, they let him because, as always, Ernest takes the blame when things go wrong at the mall where they work cleaning after hours when, in fact, they were all to blame for playing basketball in the store. Ernest loses the first game for them when he accidentally knocks over a cart of basketballs, tripping their opponent, giving him a chance to beat them by one point when he took his two shots at the hoop. The Archangel of Basketball appears after everyone else leaves the locker room where they left Ernest by himself and miserable. Ernest is given magic shoes but warned not to misuse them. Which, he doesn't at first. But, eventually, all that attention goes to his head. In a way, I can't blame him for his inflated ego. Ernest has a crush on Erma who at first seems sweet until that slime-ball, Zimmel, promises her the winning lottery ticket if she strung along Ernest. Erma 'the gold digger' does because, of course, all she cares about is 'more money'. And she only likes Ernest because she thinks he will make a lot of money and would spend it on her. Ernest becomes such a great player that even Barry's son, Quincy, starts looking up to Ernest and downing his dad, which Ernest has a problem with. Quincy, in fact, stole a pair of the same shoes because he wanted to be like Ernest and have the edge. Either way, it seems Ernest can't win. He messes up; the team hates him. He wins; they love him. He becomes the center of attention and basically plays the game by himself; they hate him again. But, good 'ol Ernest begins acting like the same Ernest we know and love. He discards the shoes and sits on the bench. Zimmel and Erma try to persuade him to put the shoes back on and get out there and play. But, Ernest tells Zimmel to leave him alone. And when Erma asks him, "What about me?", he tells her that she wasn't who he thought she was and tells them both to get away and leave him alone. But when CJ gets fouled out, Ernest has to play and, finally, the Clean Sweep team admit that he was really a part of the team. With that encouragement, Ernest gets back on the court and, with seconds to go before the end of the game, scores the winning point. All in all, Ernest didn't really care about fame and fortune. He just wanted to be included and to be a part of something. All he ever wanted was just to have friends. Ernest may be simplistic and not really all that book smart but he really is a pure genius where it counts: his heart.

This movie is spot on for good vibes and humor as it tests Earnest's loyalty to friends via a Flubber meets Faustian challenge for greed and fame. The rockin' soundtrack is particularly great! Composed and arranged by the acclaimed composer, Marc Adler. Mr Adler and Disney spared no expense in utilizing a top flight Los Angeles studio orchestra and featured vocalist, Lynn Ray, (now Lynn Ray-Pardo), for the perfect comedic accompaniment. It's too bad this film didn't enjoy an original wider release because every kid I've shown it to loves it and kids are a tough crowd. I've only seen it on TV a few times, but at least Disney should consider putting it into regular rotation on their own channel. Jim Varney's rubber faced character shows real heart, not just schtick, as he confronts the concept of what is now reality T.V. fame over friendship. The temptation of evil in the cloak of a professional basketball manager's goodies, including sexy girls in a limousine on top of big bucks and the opportunity to leave his janitorial job behind, is funny and poignant. Who knew an Earnest movie would be so deep!! Just wonderful! Yes, it doesn't have quite the highest production value but it definitely isn't low grade and certainly worth watching.

I actually like this movie better than I used to cause this movie has a good message and it is one of the more moralistic Ernest movies, the best performance isn't Ernest, it goes to the Mr. Moloch who is a greedy millionare and he wants Ernest to become rich and famous and the downside of this movie is that the girl Erma (who Ernest has a crush on) turned out to be somebody else and I thought that was pretty bad, overall I wouldn't recommend this movie if you're not an Ernest fan but if you're new to the Ernest franchise, watch Ernest Goes to Jail, Ernest Saves Christmas and Ernest Rides Again first then work your way up. Overall I give this movie 3 out of 5 stars and I remember that I used to give this movie only 1 or 2 stars.

Jim Varney IS funny in this film -- assuming you enjoy the sort of absurd slapstick that lies at the center of every Ernest movie. The problem is, whenever the camera wanders away from Varney's rubber-faced goofing, the movie starts to wander as well.The supporting cast does what it can (the men who play Ernest's after-work basketball teammates do especially well), but the story wanders, and the pacing is very slow at times. It's too "talky" at times to attract a kid audience, but not complex enough to hold an adult audience whenever the comedy quiets down. And there's the problem: the comedy quiets down too often, and when it does, the movie seems unsure of what it wants to do with itself. There's a cameo by Kareem Abdul Jabbar (an actor he is NOT!) and a rather bizarre about-face by the main female supporting character, which is never adequately explained, even by comedy-film standards.In the end, Varney's antics as the lovable goofball with the heart of gold and the brain of lead save this movie from being a complete washout -- but it's really no thanks to the script.In conclusion: Varney is still the best thing to happen to "lovable idiot" comedy since Lou Costello, but he succeeds in spite of this movie, not because of it. Better to rent "Ernest Goes To Jail" or one of the other early Ernest films, if you want to see just how much fun an Ernest movie can be.