Ernest Saves Christmas

Dir: John R. Cherry III

1988

****

There are nine Ernest films in total (sadly there were six in development before the untimely death of the great Jim Varney) and Ernest Saves Christmas is easily the best - maybe alongside Ernest Goes to Camp. The Ernest films were always shown on British TV during the summer holidays and I remember watching Ernest Saves Christmas for the first time during a particularly hot August morning. It really didn't matter to me that it wasn't Christmas, that's how much I enjoyed it. The thing is, it's not really that great a film. It's not great at all but for some reason I absolutely love it. The fact that Ernest is a lovable character aside, it is a great story. Christmas film stories are very samey and there is nothing original about helping Santa but somehow Ernest Saves Christmas feels a little different. It's an 80's classic and I'm under no illusion that I'm not being washed with waves of nostalgia here but there is something a little bit special about this film that I can't quite put my finger on. I think it has a lot to do with the film playing for laughs a lot more than most and that it isn't too schmaltzy and doesn't try too hard to teach the kids an important moral lesson. It's was never seen as a classic and it never will be but give me Ernest over Will Ferrel's Elf or Tim Allen's Santa Clause any day of the week. Another highlight that makes the film stand out over many of the others is that Douglas Seale makes a brilliant Santa Claus. The story is mad-cap and original and Jim Varney is great in every scene. The Ernest films took a severe nose-dive over the following years and I've often thought it a shame that they only made one Christmas film. He could have made a new one each year and made a brilliant series around it (and made a lot of money I shouldn't wonder too). I'm in the minority but Ernest Saves Christmas is on my essential Christmas film list and has been since 1988. Surely I can't be alone on this?