Ernest Goes to Camp (1987)

Ernest Goes To Camp is hilarious. Here we have Ernest P. Worrell working as a janitor at a summer camp and then getting promoted to camp counselor. As he guides a group of juvenile delinquents, the camp is in danger of being lost to a mining company. Undeterred, Ernest sets out to save the camp from destruction. The late Jim Varney was great as the klutzy but well-meaning Ernest P. Worrell. The late John Vernon did well as Sherman Krader, the corrupt mining company owner. This enjoyable movie is filled with slapstick humor and physical comedy.

For the time the movie was great. Jim Varney is a hilarious actor and it is sad he had to died. But the movie had great comedy and this is just another classic Ernest film I would recommend everyone should see.First the comedy in the film was great and original. The camera angles were perfect.The idea of kids from a detention center going to a camp was great. What I didn't like was all the whole native American thing they had going on. But the battle for the camp at the end was great especially the whole launching turtles into the sky and then have them parachute down onto the people and bite them.But the best part was probably when he was sitting down in the lawn chair and then he was cooking and got pulled into the fire and then jumped into the lake which I thought was pure comedy gold.

I wonder if the reason some disliked this movie is because the people of today are so brainwashed and hard wired to think that all a movie is supposed to contain is nudity, meaningless sex, cursing and violence? Do you people think that's what makes a great movie? I grew up with Ernest(since his Sprite commercial) and have continued to watch him for over 25 years. I loved him then. I love him now. In fact, I appreciate Varney's brand of humor now more than ever. While most kids' shows today are aimed at playing down to a child's intelligence, making them feel as if they're on the bottom rung of things, the 'Ernest' movies never did that. (This movie was made in the 80's and I still think it's the smartest kids' movie out there.) Ernest never lectured a child, he never made them feel inferior. He made them feel like their opinions were just as important as his. He treated them as equals and children really gravitate toward that. I know I did. That 'children are meant to be seen and not heard' is a load of crap and it was quite obvious Ernest didn't believe in that saying. 'Ernest Goes to Camp' is just one of my favorites that I can't get enough of. Ernest is Kamp Kikakee's 'fix it' guy but dreams of becoming a Camp Councelor, but no one will give him a chance. That is until a group of Juvenile delinquents are selected to join Kamp Kikakee for the summer. Automatically, almost every counselor, especially Councelor Stennis, thinks the worst of them and treats them as such. You treat a kid like a misfit, they'll act like one. You treat a kid like they're worth something, they'll truly shine. Case in point, Stennis gets pushed into the water by the boys after he throws Moose into the lake, knowing he can't swim. No one wants to help the boys so they decide to 'dump' them onto Ernest by giving in to his wish of becoming a counselor. And that's only because they don't want to 'fool' with the boys themselves. At first, all of Ernest's attempts to get the boys interested in camping activities are met with practical jokes, stunts and a mockery of Ernest. But, being Ernest, he refuses to give up on the boys. Eventually, his perseverance pays off and the boys start believing in themselves and their abilities to do something positive with their lives. Sherman Krader of 'Krader Mining Company' wants the land(in the worst way) that Kamp Kikakee sits on to mine a fictitious mineral known as Petrocite and his greed makes him a very dishonest and hostile man. He eventually cons Ernest into talking the Chief into signing over the land, telling Ernest that it's a petition instead of a lease. Ernest and Nurse St. Cloud are the only ones that are able to communicate with the chief. After figuring out that he got taken, Ernest tries to fix it by confronting the foreman in charge of the activities of the mining company. It turns out that the foreman is a mammoth of a guy. Ernest still faces him in a fight even though he knows he won't win but feels he has to stand up for the camp and the boys. After getting beat up, all the boys, but Moose, turn on him once more. Ernest feels terrible and thinks he let down the entire camp. This is the part where Ernest sings 'Gee, I'm Glad It's Rainin''. This song is quintessential Ernest and could've been his theme song in every movie. "What they wanted was a hero. All I needed was a friend". He sings it so heartbreakingly beautiful and the pain is evident in his blue eyes. After Nurse St. Cloud scolds the boys, telling them how Ernest was the only one to stand by them, they band together and convince Ernest to help them stop Krader Mining Company. Together, with the uplifting song, 'Brave Hearts', they construct contraptions and a catapult loaded down with bombs, fire arrows and 'turtle paratroopers', they blow up the equipment that Krader Mining Company had on the premises. Ernest finally gets his chance to knock out the foreman when his dozer gets hit with the cart loaded with flammable material. Krader is fed up with being stopped, so taking his rifle, he intends to shoot Ernest. Going back to the opening of the movie, Nurse St. Cloud's narrates the story of the stone, blade and arrow. No matter how good Krader's aim is, he always misses Ernest. Finally, Krader points the rifle point blank in Ernest's face, but Ernest plugs up the rifle, saying, "Paper, rock, scissors", his version of the stone, blade and arrow. Krader knows he lost and makes a run for it. Krader's attorney admits that the chief was conned into signing the lease. The campers get Kamp Kikakee back and Ernest is now a year round counselor. The ending credits are great, with the song 'Brave Hearts' by Gary Chapman playing in its entirety. The words are wonderful and play into the theme of the entire movie. I recommend this movie highly if you're looking for good, honest, clean fun with a great moral message. Varney's talents are sorely missed.

Many people have rejected the Ernest Line, but it holds a place of prominence within my own movie collection for its heart and verve. Varney's self-generated character, Ernest, embodies the hapless hero, the underdog who triumphs in spite of his inadequacies, and sometimes because of them. He is not a jock, nor an intellect, nor is he particularly bright, but his heart shines above all adversity, and his honest earthiness breathes throughout his performances, even when he's being a complete idiot.I've always been One to cheer for the underdog, and when it comes to life, Ernest was the epitome of an underdog.This work tells the story of the underdog going against big business in order to save something he loves. What's more gungho American than that? In Ernest Scared Stupid, Ertha Kitt labeled him the "Great Redneck Hope," and that sentiment permeates every single one of Varney's Ernest movies, and even manages to surface in his last (and ultimately BEST) film, the Beverly Hillbillies.This is my personal favorite of the line, as well as being the best.It rates a 7.4/10 from...the Fiend :.