Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)

Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

The second film in our official Holiday pairing is about as far away from "A Christmas Carol" as you're able to get! It's "Ernest Saves Christmas," a story about Santa Claus choosing his successor, a task that would have been made easier, but also wouldn't have been possible, without the help (or interference) of one Ernest P. Worrell! Ernest is, of course, played by the multi-talented Jim Varney, who ends up driving Santa Claus, played expertly by veteran actor Douglas Seale, to a meeting with local personality and former children's TV host Joe Carruthers (Oliver Clark) who has, unbeknownst to him, been chose to be the new Santa. Along the way, they pick up Harmony Star (Noelle Parker), a street-kid who isn't buying the whole "Santa" thing. But when Santa's sack goes missing, Joe fails to believe Santa, and Ernest is left in charge of getting the reindeer and sleigh to Santa, who must have his successor in place before 7:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, it looks like this might be the end of Christmas! But, of course, as the title suggests, Ernest saves Christmas. A surprisingly sweet film at its core, behind Varney's clowning, and a wonderful film to show to children during the holidays, especially those who might not know who Ernest is! Knowwhuddimean? And the trio reveal which two films they'll be reviewing as they honor the passing of the great Sean Connery in the next pairing!