Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Mild
- irreverent
- wacky
- cartoonish
- family movie night
- lazy weekend
What critics said
Critics found the film more coherent and visually comic than earlier Ernest installments, while still considering it uneven, highly slapstick, and limited by dull dialogue scenes.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
A crooked lawyer exploits Ernest's resemblance to crime boss Mr. Nash to arrange an impersonation and role exchange.
The electric chair is central to the story, but its lethal threat becomes an absurd origin for Ernest's superhuman powers.
Critics specifically highlighted the film's slapstick interactions with inanimate objects and Jim Varney's contorted physical performance.
Ernest's bank job and jury duty are disrupted when he is forced to serve a crime boss's prison sentence and confront a bank robbery.
Films like Ernest Goes to Jail, and why
Ernest Goes to Camp
family-friendly slapstick comedy centered on an exaggerated comic persona and escalating physical gags
Ernest Saves Christmas
children's comedy built around a mischievous adult clown figure, broad physical humor, and cartoonish chaos
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
family slapstick comedy featuring an ordinary protagonist caught in an absurd criminal predicament
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
irreverent children's comedy with elastic physical performance and surreal cartoon logic
Movie Details
- Director
- John Cherry
- Release Date
- 1990-04-06
- Runtime
- 81 min
- Rating
- 5.1 / 10 (183)
Cast
- Jim Varney
- Gailard Sartain
- Bill Byrge
- Barbara Tyson
- Barry Scott
- Randall 'Tex' Cobb
- Dan Leegant
- Charles Napier
- Jackie Welch
- Charlie Lamb
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Ernest Goes to Jail about?
- A hapless bank employee becomes an electrically empowered escapee after a criminal doppelgänger scheme sends him to prison.
- What is Ernest Goes to Jail like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Ernest Goes to Jail as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Ernest Goes to Jail violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Ernest Goes to Jail as mild.
- What did critics think of Ernest Goes to Jail?
- Critics found the film more coherent and visually comic than earlier Ernest installments, while still considering it uneven, highly slapstick, and limited by dull dialogue scenes.
- Which films are like Ernest Goes to Jail?
- Films with a similar feel include Ernest Goes to Camp, Ernest Saves Christmas, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, and Pee-wee's Big Adventure.
- How long is Ernest Goes to Jail?
- Ernest Goes to Jail runs 81 minutes.
- Where can I watch Ernest Goes to Jail?
- In United States, Ernest Goes to Jail is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
