Line #27 Film/ErnestPWorrell


1	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ernest_P__Worrell_5190.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:200:[[CharacterCatchphrase Knowhutimean?]]]]
3
4	''[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Hey Vern! I got my very own trope page!]]''
5
6	''[[SelfDemonstratingArticle I'mma let the tropers take it from here, knowhutimean?]]''
7
8	A fictional character created by UsefulNotes/{{Nashville}}, UsefulNotes/{{Tennessee}}-based advertisers Jerry Carden and John Cherry and immortalized by actor and comedian Creator/JimVarney, originally for use in television commercials. Ernest was a dim-witted but good-natured Southern man who would address his "ol' buddy" Vern (from whose POV the commercials were seen) and deliver a soliloquy on the product. Ernest advertised just about everything from milk to soft drinks to amusement parks to regional stores.
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10	The Ernest character first appeared on film in 1983 through the direct-to-video release ''Knowhutimean? Hey, Vern, It's My Family Album''. A series of five theatrical releases followed between 1987 and 1993, with four more direct-to-video films after that. Jim Varney died in 2000, but Carden & Cherry [[TheDeadRiseToAdvertise briefly revived the character in CGI form for other commercials]].
11
12	!!Ernest films:
13	[[index]]
14	* ''Film/ErnestGoesToCamp'' (1987)
15	* ''Film/ErnestSavesChristmas'' (1988)
16	* ''Film/ErnestGoesToJail'' (1990)
17	* ''Film/ErnestScaredStupid'' (1991)
18	* ''Film/ErnestRidesAgain'' (1993)
19	* ''Film/ErnestGoesToSchool'' (1994)
20	* ''Film/SlamDunkErnest'' (1995)
21	* ''Film/ErnestGoesToAfrica'' (1997)
22	* ''Film/ErnestInTheArmy'' (1998)
23	[[/index]]
24
25	!!Ernest TV Series:
26	* ''[[Series/HeyVernItsErnest Hey Vern, It's Ernest!]]'' (1988) Creator/{{CBS}}, 13 episodes. Jim Varney won an Emmy for his performance on this SaturdayMorningKidsShow[[note]]The inaugural Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series, beating out such names as Creator/FredRogers and Music/RingoStarr[[/note]] produced by Creator/DiCEntertainment, but it's all but completely forgotten today. Despite this relative obscurity, it got a complete series DVD release in 2011.
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28	And no, ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest'' [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore has nothing to do with him]]. Nor does ''WesternAnimation/ErnestEtCelestine'', or any other work with "earnest/Ernest" in the title that doesn't have Jim Varney's big goofy grin plastered on the cover.
29	----
30	!!Tropes present:
31	* TheAllegedCar: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6AUiIPBFOg One commercial for John L. Sullivan Chevrolet]] saw Ernest mocking "one of these little foreign jobbies" that Vern had purchased (and was presently sitting in). Ernest laughs so hard at him he ends up having to kneel next to a tree.
32	* AlmightyJanitor: Ernest's janitorial skills almost always come in handy in the climax part of the films.
33	* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Ernest-o had a habit-o of adding "o"s after word-os (a la ElSpanishO) in order to sound "cultured-o" and "wordly-o", [[VerbalTic comprendo]]?
34	* AudienceSurrogate: Vern.
35	* BankToaster: Ernest did commercials for regional banks involving this trope. While toasters weren't mentioned specifically, other appliances were featured such as a television and a Weber brand grill.
36	* BreakoutCharacter:
37	** Chuck and Bobby originated as commercial characters (like Ernest), and later went on to appear as supporting fixtures on ''Hey Vern, It's Ernest!''. They were also the only characters from the show to migrate into the movies.
38	** Ernest himself counts as one: he was "discovered" by Disney execs after he stole the thunder of Mickey and Minnie Mouse while riding in a parade.
39	* ButtMonkey: Ernest in the movies, ''Vern'' in the commercials.
40	* TheCameo: A year before ''Ernest Goes to Camp'' came out, Varney starred in the Cherry-directed ''Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam''. Varney played the title character and various others, but Ernest shows up at the end [[spoiler:as part of the twist ending]].
41	* CharacterActionTitle: Most of his works follow this theme.
42	* CharacterCatchphrase:
43	** [=KnowhutImean=]?
44	** ''Hey, Vern!''
45	** ''Golly-bob-howdy!''
46	** ''Shoulda talked to your ol' buddy Ernest first, [=knowhutImean=]?''
47	** Lots of imitable mannerisms too: Ernest's mug when he's grossed out "eh-heuu", Ernest getting electrocuted, and his "Eh-heh-heh-heh" laugh with sideways smirk.
48	** A few lines repeated between the commercials, TV show, and films:
49	*** "If you don't pitch your part, and I don't pitch my part, they won't have a part to pitch in."
50	*** "You know what they say about preferred rates: You might prefer 'em, but you ain't gonna get 'em."
51	*** "Pancakes on Parade."
52	*** "Or the groundhogs will be bringin' you your mail."
53	*** "See that little wire right there? Looks like it's got a little [[HarmlessElectrocution sh-ho-hosh-ho-ho-hort]] in it... my daddy used to work on them."
54	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: While the core performance remains consistent across the commercials, television series, and movies, Ernest's character changes rather dramatically. In the classic commercials, he was referred to by the production staff as "Ernest the Jerk" and was envisioned as an amalgam of every NosyNeighbor and KnowNothingKnowItAll they had ever encountered, with the unseen and long-suffering Vern intended to serve as a stand-in for the viewer when made to interact with such people. The movies remove the Vern character entirely and turn ''Ernest'' into the one the audience is meant to sympathize with; portraying him as a down on his luck but well-meaning ManChild who constantly finds himself stumbling into absurd adventures.
55	* ChewingTheScenery:
56	** Ernest ''loved'' making weird facial expressions into the camera.
57	** Done literally in ''Jail'' where he chews on an ink pen so much the ink leaks into his mouth.
58	* ClassicallyTrainedExtra: Jim Varney was an acclaimed Shakespearean stage actor before taking on the Ernest character.
59	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Ernest is only vaguely grounded in reality, and it either charms or annoys people.
60	%%* CoolOldGuy: Arguably Bobby.
61	* CountingToPotato: In ''Hey Vern, It's Ernest'' while preparing for a baking contest, Ernest reminds Vern of three basic principles (while holding up four fingers): "Number one - always use plenty of sauce. B - always squeeze yer tomaters. And three - don't forget to thump your melons, [=knowwhutImean=]?"
62	* CreepyDoll: Ernest got one, and it is [[http://www.amazon.com/Hey-Vern-Talking-Ernest-Doll/dp/B0048UCUWO not easy on the eyes]]. When Varney was interviewed by ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures'' about his role in ''Franchise/ToyStory'' and asked if he ever had nightmares about toys, he replied "Never...until they made the Ernest doll. It's eerie to have a doll that looks like you. I have one at my house...I keep him tied up." (Music/KimyaDawson even wrote [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBq0hbKCYQE a song about it]], believe it or not).
63	** A recurring character in ''Hey Vern, It's Ernest!'' is an wooden ventriloquist dummy who looks exactly like Ernest. He/It pops up periodically in cutaways to make bad puns or poke fun at Ernest.
64	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: In the movies. As big of a dope as he is, Ernest is surprisingly capable of being an effective - while still dopey - hero.
65	* DeepSouth: Where Ernest is apparently from. Jim Varney himself was a native Kentuckian and jokingly referred to himself as a "hillwillaim" (ie, a more sophisticated version of a hillbilly)
66	* TheDitz: Ernest.
67	* DIYDentistry: In a commercial for Purity Milk, we see Ernest is apparently trying to help Vern pull out a bad tooth, which Ernest blames on Vern's lack of dental hygiene.
68	-->'''Ernest:''' You should'a talked to yore ol' buddy, Ernest, first. If you'd only brush after ev'r meal, floss ev'r day, eat the right kind of foods, and of course, drank plenty of Purity milk, all this here wouldn't be necessary, would it, Vern? Ready? A-one... a-two... two-and-a-half-''three''! ''[Slams the door, Vern's head yanks forward]'' Ready to try it again, Vern?
69	* DropInCharacter: With the exception of Chuck and Bobby (who already pre-existed in commercials of their own), all of the recurring characters for the TV series fall into this trope for the Ernest universe... then, they're all PutOnABus in the movies.
70	** Though many of the actors have parts in the movies.
71	* EpicFail: The hallmark of Ernest movies; the poor guy is a walking disaster. In ''Ernest Goes To School,'' all he has to do is conduct a marching band, and he winds up getting his head stuck in a tuba and setting much of the football field on fire.
72	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Read the titles of the Ernest movies above. Any guesses as to what they're about?
73	* FishEyeLens: Used to make Ernest look all the more obnoxious.
74	* TheGhost: Vern.
75	* GirlOfTheWeek: Invoked in the movies, as most of the movies feature a leading lady, who turns out to be Ernest's current love-interest.
76	* GoodOlBoy: Ernest is a sympathetic version of this trope. Although he's not real bright, he's so optimistic, enthusiastic, and good-hearted that he's hard to dislike.
77	* HalfWittedHillbilly: A mild, sympathetic version of this trope -- Ernest isn't very smart, but he's a friendly, well-meaning Southerner that helps when he can.
78	* HardHead: Ernest has a case of this in some media. Best illustrated in ''Ernest Rides Again'' when the "hard part" of his head protects him from a nailgun and a cranial bone saw.
79	* HayseedName: Ernest P. Worrel.
80	* HyperspaceWardrobe: A recurring feature, mostly in the films.
81	* IconicOutfit: Khaki baseball cap, blue denim vest, grey t-shirt, blue jeans, and brown work shoes. The hat and vest tend to stay on even when Ernest is showering or in the swimming pool.
82	* IronButtMonkey: Ernest wrote the book on this. At least once a movie he endures some ridiculous accident that would kill any living human. In ''Ernest Rides Again'' he [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges this]] by saying that he's "''this'' close to being an actual cartoon."
83	* JiveTurkey: Ernest plays this straight with his unsuccessful attempt to communicate with a Zulu tribe in ''Ernest Goes to Africa''.
84	* JugglingLoadedGuns: In his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyU6iGjfK1c commercial]] for ''Series/HogansHeroes'', Ernest has found what is clearly a Sten submachine gun from UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo in his father's closet, but thinks it must be a cigarette lighter. The moment he pulls the trigger, he fills his surroundings full of bullets and [[ScareEmStraight scares himself straight]].
85	--> '''Ernest:''' [[Series/HogansHeroes I know nothing! I've seen nothing!]]
86	* KindheartedSimpleton: Ernest isn't [[MixedMetaphor the sharpest bulb in the box]], but he doesn't have a mean bone in his body and tries his best to do right by others, even if he doesn't understand how.
87	* KitschyLocalCommercial: Most of the original commercials were low-budget and aired in rural American markets. Part of the appeal was how "neighborly" it made Ernest come off to viewers.
88	* LargeHam: Most of Ernest's screen time is often spent trying to see how many funny faces he can make into a fisheye lens.
89	* LethallyStupid: Ernest is this in the movies; though nobody's died around him, he's completely oblivious to the harm he does to both himself and others, and he never admits fault, even when another character would really like him to.
90	* LimitedWardrobe: Ernest is almost never seen out of his IconicOutfit of a white t-shirt, blue vest and faded baseball cap, and when he is, it's either a simple color change (ala Film/ErnestGoesToJail) or a slight aesthetic difference.
91	* {{Malaproper}}: Ernest, being the not-quite-quick-witted fellow that he is, tends to do this often. Examples include him calling himself an "entremanure" (entrepreneur), him giving titles to poems and such "infectionately" (affectionately), referring to a local car dealer as the "Epatome" (epitome) of Excellence", and -- most famously -- referring to the catalytic converter in Vern's car as a "catastrophic converter".
92	* ManChild: Ernest. Not so much in the original commercials, but definitely moreso on ''Hey Vern, It's Ernest!'', and in the movies.
93	** Vern falls into this somewhat too, whenever Ernest mocks the teddy bear he sleeps with, or the rubber duck he uses in the tub.
94	* AMistakeIsBorn: ''Hey, Vern! It's My Family Album!'' parodies this in a segment about Ernest's mean Uncle Lloyd Worrell, who has a dimwitted son, [[ADogNamedDog whose name actually is Mistake]], and even unsuccessfully tries to mess with Mistake's mind with psychological torment.
95	* NegativeContinuity: Every movie finds Ernest in a new place, with a new job and new friends, and no one acknowledges the (remarkable) events of Ernest's past (though Ernest does mention [[Film/ErnestGoesToCamp being a camp counselor once]] in ''Ernest in the Army'').
96	** WordOfGod is that this was intentional so that Ernest, as a character, could easily be sequeled in new movies, similar to James Bond.
97	* NeverSayDie: From the Billy Boogey Worrell segment from ''Hey, Vern! It's My Family Album'', Billy Boogey coaxes an elderly couple onto the Scrambler, but the lady resists, saying that she and especially her husband have heart conditions. When we keep cutting back to the elderly couple, we see at one point the two of them are freaking out during the ride, another cut shows the lady using electric paddles to revive her husband, then finally we see both of them flopping around lifelessly in their seats.
98	** Ernest likes to avoid the word "die," preferring instead to launch into several colorful metaphors instead. An episode of "Hey Vern It's..." is the closest he ever came, when he told a butterfly-collecting Vern that "THIS Honey-Wunny ain't gonna be Deady-Weddy for your Collection-Wection."
99	* OverlyLongGag: Many of the sight gags in the movies are like this; at first it was the result of doing slapstick on a Disney budget, but it followed Ernest into the direct-to-video films as well.
100	* POVCam: The commercials (and certain sections of the TV series) were shot from Vern's POV. This was also used in the films, though they weren't meant to signify Vern (save for one movie; see below).
101	* PutOnABus:
102	** Chuck disappears after ''Ernest Goes to Jail'', for seemingly no reason, while Bobby continues to be paired with other, somewhat similar characters for at least two more movies.
103	** Vern in the movies, with the exception of ''Ernest Saves Christmas.''
104	* RepeatingAd: A somewhat unique case: the ads were actually for different products and different markets, but still used the same scenery, dialogue, and jokes. Some of the ads were re-made later, and some of them were re-used in the films and ''Hey Vern, It's Ernest!''
105	* SadClown: As high spirited and bungling as he is, there are several moments in the films where Ernest notices he screwed things up big time and comes off as heart-wrenchingly dispirited.
106	* SeriesContinuityError: As previously mentioned above with NegativeContinuity, however, there are broader examples to be illustrated:
107	** In the original commercials, as well as the TV series, Ernest is married - his first wife had died young, but there is constant mention of his second wife, Edna, who is often referred to, but never seen (like Vern); in the movies, however, Ernest is apparently single, and has a different crush or love interest with each movie.
108	** Likewise, in the original commercials and TV series, Ernest lives in a typical ranch-style home ([[RealLife Jim Varney's real home doubled for Ernest's]]), with only a few toys and childlike items placed on shelves as set decorations; in the movies, Ernest's house seems, as pointed out by Nostalgia Critic, "on loan from [[Creator/PaulReubens Pee-wee]]".
109	** In the original commercials, Ernest was occasionally seen with a pet dog named Shorty, who often gave birth to puppies in Vern's pickup trucks (Shorty was always a different breed, and the puppies were never the same breed as Shorty); in the movies, Ernest's dog is male, and named Rimshot. Further, in ''Hey Vern, It's Ernest!'', Shorty is instead ''Vern's'' dog, and is also male.
110	* ShoutOut: To ''[[Series/TheAndyGriffithShow Andy Griffith Show]]'' character Ernest T. Bass (similar names and wardrobes).
111	* ShowWithinAShow: On ''Hey Vern, It's Ernest!'', several of the recurring skits involved fictional television shows from Ernest's world.
112	* SignatureHeadgear: Ernest is always wearing that baseball cap. Yes, even in the shower. Lampshaded in ''Ernest Rides Again'' by the [[SignatureSoundEffect cork-popping noise]] it would make whenever he took it off, and it was an actual plot point in both ''Ernest Goes To Jail'' ([[spoiler:[[CriminalDoppelganger Felix Nash]] [[OutOfCharacterAlert refused to wear it]]]]) and ''Ernest Rides Again'' ([[spoiler:it's abandoned by his kidnappers while the Crown of England was stuck on his head]]). [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfOfc9c_WpY One particular Ernest commercial]] saw Ernest dabble in "fencing"[[note]]painting a fence while acting like it's fencing[[/note]], and even dons a fencing mask... that has ''another'' one of his hats on it.
113	* TheSilentBob: Bobby for the original commercials and TV series, though he usually gets at least a line or two in the movies.
114	* SmartPeoplePlayChess: One gag which appeared in both the original commercials and ''Hey Vern, It's Ernest'' has him playing chess. Not being the sharpest knife in the drawer, he ends up [[DoubleSubversion playing it like Checkers.]]
115	* TakeOurWordForIt: The very first commercial was for a local amusement park which was in the process of being refurbished and not yet camera-ready. To get around this, Ernest simply enthusiastically described it to his neighbor.
116	* TheUnseen: Vern, obviously, but also his wife (Vernette) and son (Lil' Vern); both were named in a series of Christmas commercials.
117	* VocalEvolution: Jim Varney was a chain smoker for most of his adult life, and you can clearly hear the negative effect it had on his vocal cords when comparing the commercials from TheEighties to the later films. By the final film, ''Ernest In The Army'', one can see the lung cancer that would eventually claim his life beginning to take effect on his physical performance as well.
118	* TheVoiceless: Vern never speaks, though you do occasionally hear him groan or make some other noise.
119	* ThoseTwoGuys: BigGuyLittleGuy Chuck and Bobby in movies with both of them.
120	* WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: It's practically a rule in the films.
121	* TheWonka: Ernest (though differing from TheWonka in that he's not his own boss) has his own particular brand of logic that he tends to follow. An example is that in one of the movies he carries around a bullet with his name engraved on it so no one can shoot him with it.

Context Film / ErnestPWorrell