Ernest Saves Christmas

Directed by John Cherry, Ernest Saves Christmas follows Jim Varney’s title figure as he attempts to ensure that Christmas goes off without a hitch. Filmmaker Cherry, armed with a screenplay by B. Kline and Ed Turner, delivers a predictably larger-than-life (and relentlessly silly) endeavor that just squeaks by on charm and earnestness, as the movie, which runs a short-yet-still-0verlong 91 minutes, benefits from the agreeable efforts of Varney in the central role – with the star’s go-for-broke efforts generally elevating the proceedings and smoothing over the narrative’s periodic lulls. (It doesn’t hurt, either, that Varney has been surrounded by an affable assortment of periphery players, with Douglas Seale’s engaging work as Santa Claus and Noëlle Parker’s sweet turn as a teenage runaway standing as obvious highlights within the proceedings.) And while the whole thing generally feels relentlessly geared towards children, Ernest Saves Christmas‘ proliferation of amusing digressions and heartfelt moments ensures that it remains perfectly watchable from start to finish.

**1/2 out of ****