YMMV / Ernest Goes to Jail

• Complete Monster: Felix Nash is the Criminal Doppelgänger of Ernest, a ruthless "crime czar" with a plan to escape Death Row. An imprisoned Nash works with his goons to swap places with Ernest, escaping into his heroic duplicate's life while Ernest is left to suffer in prison under threat of Nash harming his loved ones. Nash is a brutal creep when it comes to getting what he wants, as he torments and threatens a fellow crook with dropping heavy weights onto his crotch in exchange for money, and later forcefully kisses and tries to rape Ernest's Love Interest Charlotte. After threatening an entire jury into obeying his demands and setting Ernest up to die in the electric chair, Nash tries to rob the bank Ernest works at, cheerfully attempting to kill Charlotte and the bank's security guards by tying them to a bomb, and when he's caught, Nash tries to take Charlotte as a hostage at gunpoint.
• Harsher in Hindsight: When asked if he wants a cigarette before his execution, Ernest turns down the offer, saying that cigarettes can kill you. While certainly funny back in the day, there isn't much humor in the line anymore because Jim Varney died from lung cancer in 2000, because of his vigorous smoking habits.
• He Really Can Act: Jim Varney gives a genuinely intimidating performance as Felix Nash while also managing to incorporate enough panache and charisma into the character to make him come across as rather cool, particularly in comparison to Ernest. Even though they look identical, Jim is able to play both differing roles so well that it's easy to forget that they're played by the same guy.

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