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Ernest Goes to Jail

  • 1990
  • PG
  • 1h 21m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
10K
YOUR RATING
Jim Varney in Ernest Goes to Jail (1990)
Ernest P. Worrell is a bank janitor sent to jail when people mistake his identity for a look-alike.
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
99+ Photos
ComedyCrimeFamily

Ernest P. Worrell is a bank janitor sent to jail when people mistake his identity for a look-alike.Ernest P. Worrell is a bank janitor sent to jail when people mistake his identity for a look-alike.Ernest P. Worrell is a bank janitor sent to jail when people mistake his identity for a look-alike.

  • Director
    • John R. Cherry III
  • Writer
    • Charlie Cohen
  • Stars
    • Jim Varney
    • Gailard Sartain
    • Bill Byrge
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.4/10
    10K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John R. Cherry III
    • Writer
      • Charlie Cohen
    • Stars
      • Jim Varney
      • Gailard Sartain
      • Bill Byrge
    • 49User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
    • 40Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 0:31
    Official Trailer

    Photos106

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    Top cast28

    Edit
    Jim Varney
    Jim Varney
    • Ernest P. Worrell…
    Gailard Sartain
    Gailard Sartain
    • Chuck
    Bill Byrge
    • Bobby
    Barbara Tyson
    Barbara Tyson
    • Charlotte Sparrow
    • (as Barbara Bush)
    Barry Scott
    • Rubin Bartlett
    Randall 'Tex' Cobb
    Randall 'Tex' Cobb
    • Lyle
    Dan Leegant
    Dan Leegant
    • Oscar Pendlesmythe
    Charles Napier
    Charles Napier
    • Warden
    Jim Conrad
    • Eddie
    Jackie Welch
    Jackie Welch
    • Judge
    Melanie Wheeler
    • Prosecutor
    Jeffrey Buckner Ford
    • Defense Attorney
    • (as Buck Ford)
    Daniel Butler
    • Waiter
    Charlie Lamb
    • Another Con
    Mac Bennett
    Mac Bennett
    • Con
    Rick Schulman
    • Mean Guard
    Bruce Arntson
    Bruce Arntson
    • Juror
    Andy Stahl
    Andy Stahl
    • Jerry
    • (as Andrew Stahl)
    • Director
      • John R. Cherry III
    • Writer
      • Charlie Cohen
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews49

    5.410.3K
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    Featured reviews

    sfriend1

    Fun to Watch

    You would think after two installments this series would be worn out. Somehow though Jim Varney and entertaining story lines makes this series continue to be successful and fun to watch. This time Bank Janitor Ernest goes to jail, swapping places with a look a like bank robber on death row named Nash. He must break out and stop Nash from robbing the bank he works at. Varney does a terrific job with the Nash character. I am waiting for this series to hit rock bottom, it sure hasn't happened yet.

    Rating: B-
    dootuss

    Jim Varney at his finest!!!

    "Ernest Goes To Jail" is probably the BEST "Ernest" film ever made out of all of the films. Jim Varney once again gives us more laughs as he plays the idiotic Ernest P. Worrel. In the movie Ernest is assigned jury duty for a murder trial. Nash (who wants out of prison badly) the man who is on trial looks exactly like Ernest, and switches places with Ernest to escape from prison. So in the process, our rubber faced nit wit gets to spend some time in the slammer. Jim Varney once again does an excellent job as the bumbling fool Ernest P. Worrell as well as escaped criminal look a like Nash. I thought it was cool how Varney switched continuosly throughout the movie with the 2 characters. Overall this movie rules!!
    7lee_eisenberg

    The importance of being Ernest...

    This time, the lovable dimwit gets summoned for jury duty, where a corrupt attorney notices that he looks like a jailbird who wants to break out, so the two get switched. Of course, most of the movie is a series of gags; in "Ernest Goes to Jail", most of the gags relate to electricity. I really liked the whole vacuum cleaner sequence early on. Overall, the point of the movie is just to have fun, and I'm sure that you will. This is possibly the ultimate movie that you watch with a bud. It's quite safe to say that Jim Varney will truly be missed. Knowwhaddamean? FYI: the only other cast member whom I recognized was Randall "Tex" Cobb, who played Lyle. You've surely seen him somewhere.
    7drhoads-93743

    Underrated

    If you haven't seen this film for a while, go back and watch it. It's a ridiculous film, but that's what it's meant to be.

    Ernest Goes to Camp, while I loved it as a kid, is difficult to watch for me now. As silly as it was back then, it's aged even worse. (I still will give it a watch from time to time) But Ernest Goes to Jail is much better crafted and much more self-aware of what type of film it is, with some clever, well-thought-out humor.
    6CuriosityKilledShawn

    Jail is more fun than camp, Who knew?

    Handyman Ernest is called up for jury duty where the crook on trial realizes that he's a doppleganger for his incarcerated boss. After a convoluted switch Ernest if behind bars while his evil counterpart Nash is working night security at the bank, planning to rob it and make moves on Ernest's girl.

    It's a familiar plot, and the production values are not that great (what's with all the pink lighting in jail?) but Jim Varney's mugging and the story's eccentric imagination make it a fun watch. It's a tighter movie than Camp though, which I felt was a bit of a false start to his big screen adventures.

    It's hard to believe Varney was only 40 at the time of filming, and that he'd only live another 10 years. As crass as the Ernest movies might be they are a constant reminder of an actor who's abilities were wide, but never got the recognition he deserved.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This is the last Ernest movie to have the character Chuck played by Gailard Sartain.
    • Goofs
      When the shop vac goes up the walls and on the ceiling, huge creases are in the walls and ceiling to keep the vacuum in contact with what it is rolling up against.
    • Quotes

      Auntie Nelda: The way they run this institution is an outrage, for a poor, tight, old lonely woman like me. Her only son of feathers is a terribly successful one. Young man? Young Man?

      [the gate guard comes out]

      Auntie Nelda: Young Man, Would you please open that gate, I left my car running outside?

      Gate Guard: Ma'am, You tell me how you got through this gate, the visitors area's on the other side of the prison.

      Auntie Nelda: I brought him up with the best I could, but sometimes a bad thief pulls from even the most fragile flower.

      Gate Guard: Ma'am, you are not going through this gate.

      Auntie Nelda: Is this the way you'd treat your mother? Is this the kind of abuse that poor woman must endure?

      Gate Guard: Well, I guess that my mother is a little bit mad at-...

      Auntie Nelda: Mmmhmm! You ought to be in the slammer with the rest of these misfits! If you had any remorse at all for the HORROR you pushed your mother through, you'd open that gate! I have a car overheating as we SPEAK!

      [Ernest makes a snooty expression at the Gate Guard]

      Gate Guard: Ok, Ok.

      [picks up phone]

      Gate Guard: All right! Let's open the east gate.

      [hangs it up]

      Gate Guard: There, now you satisfied?

      Auntie Nelda: Now tell your mother how her son has improved despite his shady and somewhat checkered past.

    • Alternate versions
      When aired on TV, this movie has extra scenes not features in the home video release. Like: When Ernest get's both steel balls cuffed to his legs, he originally started with one but he pulls another stunt and the bailef makes it two; At the very end, Ernest is finally a bank clerk, his computer shorts out and he becomes magnitized once again, except nothing metal clings to him. Except the file cabinets back for a rematch; Ernest getting his last meal before going to the chair;
    • Connections
      Featured in Shameful Sequels: Ernest Goes to Jail (2014)
    • Soundtracks
      Doin' Time
      Music and Lyrics by Bruce Arntson

      Performed by Bruce Arntson

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    FAQ18

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 6, 1990 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official Facebook
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Chaos im Knast
    • Filming locations
      • Nashville, Tennessee, USA
    • Production companies
      • Touchstone Pictures
      • Silver Screen Partners IV
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $9,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $25,029,569
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $6,143,372
      • Apr 8, 1990
    • Gross worldwide
      • $25,029,569
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 21 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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