This movie is fairly new to my annual festive film watching marathon, it is in it's third year now and I have finally bought it on DVD rather than watching it as a poor quality youtube video. I did watch the Ernest films as a child and I remember enjoying them but I could not recall anything that happened in them, just Jim Varney's expressive face and a lot of things falling over. Ernest Saves Christmas is a lot of fun and quite crazy, Ernest is one of those characters who you either laugh at or cringe over, if he were real you would want him as far away from your Christmas or car as possible but it is safe to watch him from afar! His heart is in the right place but he is a disaster zone. Everything he touches is destroyed, and despite him trying so hard to make everyone happy he is so oblivious to the destruction that he causes and only worsens things by seeming rather unapologetic.
The story is centered on the soon-to-be retired Santa Claus travelling to Florida to appoint his successor, a kindhearted (but somewhat impatient) man called Joe. Santa ends up in Ernest's taxi cab with his magic sack and the adventure starts with a bang as Ernest drives wildly to Santa's destination and leaving a trail of havoc. They pick up a teenage runaway who calls herself Harmony on the way, she is full of cynicism and opinions, rolls her eyes a lot and eats mini cheeseburgers after claiming to be a vegetarian, but seems to integrate into the group quickly. Ernest and Harmony join forces to help Santa recruit Joe, which is not an easy task as his agent has Santa arrested. Ernest is a true believer in Christmas and Santa but Harmony takes a little more persuading. They must hand the reins over to the new Santa before it is too late, or Christmas will cease to exist - the fate of Christmas lies in Ernest's disastrous hands! I really must say that Ernest is quite possibly a secret genius; his disguises and identities he adopts to walk into places unsuspected are rather impressive. Perhaps he is just pretending to be an annoying calamity all along?
This film has a festive vibe, and follows the usual trope of being all about the magic of Christmas, or rather the people who have lost their Christmas spirit or have lost their way in life. Through Ernest's infectious holiday cheer and readiness to believe no matter how bizarre the notion, you may find yourself chuckling at this one and getting caught up in the plot.
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