Ernest Goes to Camp

Synopsis of Movie

“Eeeeeeeeewwwwwwww!”

Hey Vern, I got my own movie! Yes, that rubber-faced, accident-prone and always entertaining neighbor Ernest P. Worrell (played by Kentucky native Jim Varney) made the jump from TV commercials to the big screen with the 1987 release of Ernest Goes to Camp. Varney and advertising executive John Cherry had made Ernest into a national phenomenon, pitching a variety of products in literally thousands of local TV spots. The two continued their collaboration on this slapstick ode to summer camp, which Cherry directed and co-wrote.

Ernest’s only dream is to become a fully-fledged counselor at Kamp Kekakee, but instead he’s hired as camp janitor. Luckily for Ernest, one of the regular counselors gets sick, so the clumsy janitor is called in to take over. But these are no ordinary campers; these are the rowdiest, most practical joking group of juvenile delinquents that Kekakee has to offer.

Ernest tries to charm the kids into shape with homespun wisdom and good old-fashioned fun, but the cruel tykes just take advantage of Ernest’s good nature. Ernest thinks he’s a failure, but a more urgent problem has reared its head. Greedy tycoon Sherman Krader wants Kekakee for himself, hoping to strip mine the land of its natural wealth. Krader tricks Ernest into helping convince the Old Indian Chief who owns Kekakee into signing away the land rights, but when the truth comes out, Ernest and his band of misfits have only one choice: Fight the Man by any means necessary (even turtle paratroopers).

Ernest Goes to Camp was no Oscar contender, but there was no denying that the kids (and many adults) loved it. Filmed on a small budget, the film became a modest hit, and Ernest’s popularity went into overdrive. Eight more movies followed (four more in theaters, four on video), as did the Emmy-winning Saturday morning series Hey Vern, It’s Ernest! and many, many more commercials.

Movie Release History

1987 - Ernest Goes to Camp
1988 - Ernest Saves Christmas
1990 - Ernest Goes to Jail
1991 - Ernest Scared Stupid
1993 - Ernest Rides Again

Movie Sub Categories

live-action
comedy

Movie Studio

Emshell Producers, 0Silver Screen Partners III, Touchstone

Cast

Ernest P. Worrell Jim Varney
Nurse St. Cloud Victoria Racimo
Sherman Krader  John Vernon
Old Indian Chief   Iron Eyes Cody
Bronk Stinson  Lyle Alzado
Jake   Gailard Sartain
Eddy   Daniel Butler
Bobby Wayne   Patrick Day
Crutchfield   Scott Menville
Bubba Vargas   Jacob Vargas
Danny  Danny Capri
Moustafa-Hakeem Jones   Hakeem Abdul-Samad
Chip Ozgood   Todd Loyd
Pennington   Andy Woodworth
Brooks   Richard Speight Jr.
Attorney Elliot Blatz   Buck Ford
Mr. Tipton   Larry Black
Counselor Stennis   Eddy Schumacher
Counselor Sparks   Hugh Sinclair
Counselor Puckett  Johnson West
State Supervisor   Jean Wilson
Technician #1   Mac Bennett
Technician #2   John Brown
Camper #1   Robert G. Benson III
Camper #2   Adam Ruff
Camper #3   Michael Chappelear
Camper #4   Lance Bridgesmith
Young Indian Brave   Paulo Deleon
Brave's Father   Harvey Godwin Jr.
Medicine Man   Jeff Standing Bear
Mr. Stewart  Ivan Green
Molly Stewart   Christian Haas
Mrs. Stewart  Brenda Haynes

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