There was a time, not so long ago, that I would've trashed this movie. Not in a fun, I-still-love-this way, but in a I Am A Serious Movie Reviewer way. And, to be sure, there are criticisms I can make about this movie. But doing so is somewhat missing the forest for the trees, you know? I shouldn't be treating this as if it wanted to Change Cinema - I should review it on the movie's own terms. While that won't mean it gets a higher score than it deserves, it does give it a better one for meeting it where it is at.
Ernest Scared Stupid follows Ernest P. Worrell, the Jim Varney character of a many a film in the 90s, as he and the children of Briarville, Missouri fight off the troll Trantor (Erne Fosselius as the voice, Jonas Moscartolo in the costume), who was accidentally reawakened by Ernest. And let me tell you, somehow it always surprises me that this movie is set in Missouri of all places. I guess it feels like it should be a state further south, given the Ernest character? Or maybe in the northeast where there is more of a history of this sort of thing? It doesn't really affect the story, but it still seems so weird for it to be there.
Anyway, the only person who appears to know anything about how to defeat the troll is Old Lady Hackmore - such a perfectly Halloween-themed name - played by Eartha Kitt, who is the only performer on the same wavelength as Varney, and is thus the best performance in the movie by a country mile.
The movie is a surprisingly fleet 89 minutes, with credits, and because of this it does not putter around, plotwise. The troll is freed fairly early, almost immediately gets one of what we think are the main kids, and starts wrecking havoc with no one believing Ernest regarding the cause. The movie does give time to the children (somewhat to its detriment, as the acting from them and the parents is dodgy from scene to scene), but spends more time with Varney as Ernest, doing many of the riffs the character was famous for. Much like the lazier Robin Williams movies, how well you can tolerate this movie depends on how tired of these familiar beats you get.
I don't get tired of them, and the best scenes of the movie involve the use of them, so I tolerate it pretty well. Varney gives the performance so much energy that it is hard for me not to vibe with what the character is doing, even if it is ridiculous. Highlights include a completely cuttable scene involving a bear trap that would've been devastating to lose and a battle with the troll on a moving vehicle being driven by Ernest's dog Rimshot (played by Barkley, a Jack Russell terrier). The scenes work because of the mugging, not in spite of it.
Watching this has become a Halloween tradition, and I'm glad I didn't let potential snobbery prevent me from loving it, despite all of its flaws.
6 out of 10, but a fun 6 out of 10
