Ernest Goes to School
Encyclopedia
Ernest Goes to School is a 1994 comedy film
written and directed by Coke Sams and starring Jim Varney
. It is the seventh film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell
, and the first to be released direct-to-video
. It never had a DVD release in Region 1
. This motion picture is also the only film in the Ernest film series not to be directed by John R. Cherry III
. Its opening theme is "Hail to the Muskrats!" which was the alma mater. This movie was shot in Vancouver
, British Columbia
.
) works as a janitor at Chickasaw Falls High School, which is facing closure due to the School Board's decision to merge other schools in the area. There is also a new rule: All employees are required to have graduated. Ernest never did.
Ernest has two choices as a result: Redo grade twelve at the school with regular courses and potentially graduate, or lose his job. Ernest reluctantly decides to redo school and enters the student body, attending regular classes and performing usual student activities, but all not with a little catastrophe or predicament or distraction.
Soon the principal tells him he's failing and that he may as well forget about the experiment. As Ernest is off sulking about it, two science teachers show up in his locker to reveal their biggest experiment to him - a potential brain accelerator. They make Ernest their "Human Guinea Pig" and see what happens.
It's successful and Ernest becomes significantly smart. He is extremely proficient at virtually everything from mathematics to drama to music. The only downside is that his personality turns snobbish and superior, alienating him from his friends. He impresses his teachers and it seems he's well on the way to graduating with top marks.
While Ernest is doing well, Ms. Flugal, who is Ernest's love interest in the film, makes him band conductor and puts him in charge of directing the marching band in preparation for the half-time show during the football game. Ernest diligently does so and instructs the whole band to watch him if anything wrong happens. This rule is very instrumental in the ending result.
Eventually two bullies find out about Ernest's secret by watching him descend into his locker to recharge his intelligence. They in turn destroy the accelerator right before the night of the football game. The whole procession is ultimately ruined when Ernest realizes he can't recharge and has to direct the band with his usual mind and intelligence. He spends the whole disastrous affair with his head inserted in a tuba which resulted after he descended toward the band from the podium in his clumsiness. He in turn disappoints the band, the audience who had to run from the resulting fire, the principal, and most of all Ms. Flugal.
Depressed, with the knowledge that he can't recharge his head any more, Ernest starts packing his things until he finds three of his friends mocking him. They force Ernest haplessly through days of study for the final exam, but Ernest proves hopeless. On the day of the big exam he's about to go in but before he does the scientists tell him excitedly that the Brain Accelerator has been repaired. Feeling for his friends who laboured with him all that time, he refuses and enters the exam.
During final part of the movie the football game finals take place. During the game the board inspector, who personally wants the merger to happen, bribes the football coach into purposely losing the game against the rival team. With a board trustee in attendance, (who believes in schools producing winners), making the school lose and inevitably close would make the merger possible. The coach accepts, resulting in the football team losing every play. Meanwhile, Ernest is still in charge in the marching band. Using his own ideas he comes up with small routines during the half-time show. On the other hand, other members of the band are informed of the fix on the game and sneak off. With the help of the two science teachers, they infiltrate the locker room with sleeping gas, effectively replacing the football team to win the game themselves.
During the game between the rival team and the replacements, the two scientists reveal to Ernest their new brain accelerator. He immediately charges up and becomes the coach for the team. With his new intelligent strategies the tide turns and they start winning.
However, in the last play of the game Ernest forgets to recharge and loses his intelligence while in play. He ends up rolling down field on a drum after the ball that was thrown and flies into the end zone, catching it. The team wins just as the football players arrive from the locker room in bewilderment and the board trustee is informed of the instructor's actions and intentions and the coach's involvement.
In the end the school stays open (They won the football game) and both the coach and the inspector lose their jobs respectively. It's revealed that Ernest passed the exam and so graduates, keeping his job.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written and directed by Coke Sams and starring Jim Varney
Jim Varney
James Albert "Jim" Varney, Jr. was an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, writer, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Ernest P...
. It is the seventh film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell
Ernest P. Worrell
Ernest P. Worrell is a fictional character most principally portrayed by the late American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials, and later in a television series as well as a series of feature films. Ernest was created by the Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry and was...
, and the first to be released direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
. It never had a DVD release in Region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
. This motion picture is also the only film in the Ernest film series not to be directed by John R. Cherry III
John R. Cherry III
John R. Cherry III is an American film director and screenwriter, most notable for directing virtually every movie starring Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell. He based the character on a man who worked for his dad who thought that he knew everything but didn't know anything...
. Its opening theme is "Hail to the Muskrats!" which was the alma mater. This movie was shot in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Plot
Ernest (Jim VarneyJim Varney
James Albert "Jim" Varney, Jr. was an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, writer, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Ernest P...
) works as a janitor at Chickasaw Falls High School, which is facing closure due to the School Board's decision to merge other schools in the area. There is also a new rule: All employees are required to have graduated. Ernest never did.
Ernest has two choices as a result: Redo grade twelve at the school with regular courses and potentially graduate, or lose his job. Ernest reluctantly decides to redo school and enters the student body, attending regular classes and performing usual student activities, but all not with a little catastrophe or predicament or distraction.
Soon the principal tells him he's failing and that he may as well forget about the experiment. As Ernest is off sulking about it, two science teachers show up in his locker to reveal their biggest experiment to him - a potential brain accelerator. They make Ernest their "Human Guinea Pig" and see what happens.
It's successful and Ernest becomes significantly smart. He is extremely proficient at virtually everything from mathematics to drama to music. The only downside is that his personality turns snobbish and superior, alienating him from his friends. He impresses his teachers and it seems he's well on the way to graduating with top marks.
While Ernest is doing well, Ms. Flugal, who is Ernest's love interest in the film, makes him band conductor and puts him in charge of directing the marching band in preparation for the half-time show during the football game. Ernest diligently does so and instructs the whole band to watch him if anything wrong happens. This rule is very instrumental in the ending result.
Eventually two bullies find out about Ernest's secret by watching him descend into his locker to recharge his intelligence. They in turn destroy the accelerator right before the night of the football game. The whole procession is ultimately ruined when Ernest realizes he can't recharge and has to direct the band with his usual mind and intelligence. He spends the whole disastrous affair with his head inserted in a tuba which resulted after he descended toward the band from the podium in his clumsiness. He in turn disappoints the band, the audience who had to run from the resulting fire, the principal, and most of all Ms. Flugal.
Depressed, with the knowledge that he can't recharge his head any more, Ernest starts packing his things until he finds three of his friends mocking him. They force Ernest haplessly through days of study for the final exam, but Ernest proves hopeless. On the day of the big exam he's about to go in but before he does the scientists tell him excitedly that the Brain Accelerator has been repaired. Feeling for his friends who laboured with him all that time, he refuses and enters the exam.
During final part of the movie the football game finals take place. During the game the board inspector, who personally wants the merger to happen, bribes the football coach into purposely losing the game against the rival team. With a board trustee in attendance, (who believes in schools producing winners), making the school lose and inevitably close would make the merger possible. The coach accepts, resulting in the football team losing every play. Meanwhile, Ernest is still in charge in the marching band. Using his own ideas he comes up with small routines during the half-time show. On the other hand, other members of the band are informed of the fix on the game and sneak off. With the help of the two science teachers, they infiltrate the locker room with sleeping gas, effectively replacing the football team to win the game themselves.
During the game between the rival team and the replacements, the two scientists reveal to Ernest their new brain accelerator. He immediately charges up and becomes the coach for the team. With his new intelligent strategies the tide turns and they start winning.
However, in the last play of the game Ernest forgets to recharge and loses his intelligence while in play. He ends up rolling down field on a drum after the ball that was thrown and flies into the end zone, catching it. The team wins just as the football players arrive from the locker room in bewilderment and the board trustee is informed of the instructor's actions and intentions and the coach's involvement.
In the end the school stays open (They won the football game) and both the coach and the inspector lose their jobs respectively. It's revealed that Ernest passed the exam and so graduates, keeping his job.
Cast
- Jim VarneyJim VarneyJames Albert "Jim" Varney, Jr. was an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, writer, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Ernest P...
as Ernest P. WorrellErnest P. WorrellErnest P. Worrell is a fictional character most principally portrayed by the late American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials, and later in a television series as well as a series of feature films. Ernest was created by the Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry and was... - Linda KashLinda KashLinda Kash is a Canadian actress.An alumna of Second City, she played Trudy Weissman in the 1998 Jean Smart sit-com, Style & Substance...
as Gerta - Bill Byrge as Bobby
- Jason MichasJason MichasJason Michas is a Canadian-born voice actor, who played in animated television shows such as Sabrina, the Animated Series as Harvey Kinkle, and in Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars as the protagonist in the first four episodes...
as Donald - Sarah ChalkeSarah ChalkeSarah Chalke is a Canadian-American actress known for portraying Dr. Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy Scrubs, "Second Becky" Conner Healy on Roseanne, and Stella Zinman in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother...
as Maisy - Gabe KhouthGabe KhouthGabe Khouth is a Canadian voice actor who works for Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Biography:Gabe Khouth is the younger brother of voice actor Samuel Vincent. He has played several roles in anime, most notably Nicol Amalfi in Gundam SEED. Khouth also acted in the...
as Rodney - Corrine Koslo as Miss Flugal
- Russell Porter as Brad
- Will SassoWill SassoWilliam "Will" Sasso is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is most notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on the American sketch comedy series MADtv, spending five seasons on the show.-Early life:...
as Russell - Duncan Fraser as Coach Decker
- French Tickner as Principal Procter
- David KeithDavid KeithDavid Lemuel Keith is an American actor and director. He received Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor and New Star of the Year – Actor for his performance in An Officer and a Gentleman.-Career:...
as Squint Westwood - Lorena GaleLorena GaleLorena Gale was a Canadian actress, director, and writer. She was active onstage and in films and television since the 1980s...
as History Teacher - Michael RoberdsMichael RoberdsMichael Roberds is a Canadian actor originally from Langley, British Columbia. He portrayed a cafeteria server in Ernest Goes to School. He has appeared on The New Addams Family as Uncle Fester, Da Vinci's City Hall, Commander's Log , Super Dave's All Stars and in Hot Tub Time Machine.-External...
as Cafeteria Server - Bruce Arntson as Chick Hansen