Ernest Goes to Camp
| Ernest Goes to Camp | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John R. Cherry III |
| Written by | John R. Cherry III Coke Sams |
| Produced by | Martin Erlichman Elmo Williams |
| Starring | Jim Varney Victoria Racimo John Vernon Iron Eyes Cody Lyle Alzado |
| Cinematography | Harry Mathias Jim May |
| Edited by | Marshall Harvey |
| Music by | Shane Keister |
| Distributed by | Touchstone Pictures |
Release date |  1987-05-22 |
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3,000,000 (estimate) |
| Box office | $23,509,382 (domestic sub-total) |
Ernest Goes to Camp is a 1987 comedy film directed by John R. Cherry III and starring Jim Varney. It is the second film to feature the character of Ernest P. Worrell. The movie received a PG rating from the MPAA.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jim Varney | Ernest P. Worrell |
| Victoria Racimo | Nurse St. Cloud |
| John Vernon | Sherman Krader |
| Iron Eyes Cody | Old Native american 'Chief St. Cloud' |
| Lyle Alzado | Bronk Stinson (Foreman) |
| Gailard Sartain | Jake (Chef #1) |
| Daniel Butler | Eddie (Chef #2) |
| Patrick Day | Bobby Wayne |
| Scott Menville | Crutchfield |
| Jacob Vargas | Butch 'Bubba' Vargas |
| Todd Loyd | Chip Ozgood |
Plot
Jim Varney reprises his role of Ernest P. Worrell, now working as a maintenance man at a summer camp and hoping to become a counselor. Ernest gets his chance when he is assigned a small group of juvenile delinquents. At first, the boys torment Ernest, playing practical jokes and mocking his efforts to get them interested in the outdoors. Their efforts are also met by resistance from other, more affluent campers. Meanwhile, an evil mining corporation run by the ruthless Sherman Krader (John Vernon) has its sights on the summer camp, a site rich with the fictional mineral petrocite. However, Chief St. Cloud, the camp owner, refuses to sell. Krader manipulates the naive Ernest, one of the few people who speaks the chief's language, into convincing St. Cloud to sign away the land, believing it to be a conservation petition. Ernest decides to fix the situation by storming into the construction site and picking a fight with the foreman (Lyle Alzado). Ernest is savagely beaten; however, he begins to gain the respect of his campers after the camp's doctor points out that Ernest is the only person who has defended them. Recruiting the campers, Ernest plans a full-scale assault as the construction company begins to demolish the camp. Echoing the film's opening scene, which features an Indian brave surviving three tests of courage, Ernest faces down Krader, plugging the villain's hunting rifle with his finger, and then punching out the brutal foreman for good measure. The boys and Ernest succeed in protecting the land and Kamp Kikakee remains for young campers to enjoy. Ernest remains a counselor, although he still remains his clumsy, inept (yet good-hearted) self.
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (June 2007) |
- The song used to detach the box turtle from Ernest's nose is "Happy Together," a song which was written and recorded by the musical group The Turtles. It also serves as a theme song of the film.
- Ernest Goes to Camp aired in two parts during The Magical World of Disney, with part 1 airing on October 29, 1989, and part 2 on November 5. Prior to the movie, Ernest was seen training for, and finally riding, Disneyland's Splash Mountain attraction.
- In his song "Callin in Sick Today," Weird Al Yankovic mentions that he can "spend all day in [his] underwear watching Ernest Goes to Camp" rather than going to work.
- A great deal of the novel and subsequent film Hoot closely resembles the plot of this film, with the mining company replaced by a restaurant chain and the campground replaced by an owl sanctuary.
- Gailard Sartain appears in this movie as Jake, eccentric camp chef and co-inventor of "eggs erroneous." Sartain would go on to appear in the next two Ernest features (Ernest Saves Christmas and Ernest Goes to Jail), but his character would be re-tooled and re-named "Chuck". Nevertheless, Sartain's characteristic facial expression (a sort of zig-zagging eye movement) is emphasized in all his Ernest appearances.