Hey, Vern! Ya got nothing to lose but your chains!
February 1, 2018 9:26 AM Subscribe
How Ernest Goes To Camp Made Me A Socialist (Twitter thread) Come for a fun little bit of critical theory; stay for the reminder of what a nice guy Jim Varney was.
Elizabeth Catte is great and I’m reslly looking forward to reading her book WHAT YOU’RE GETTING WRONG ABOUT APPALACHIA
posted by The Whelk at 9:53 AM on February 1, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:53 AM on February 1, 2018 [6 favorites]
Fucking Ernest. I love him for his portrayal of someone that talks not completely unlike the way my family and I talk who is so full of boundless love and a childlike curiosity and eagerness to please. But there's a small part of me that hates how it is such a damn thing that people that talk that way are idiots. Correlation and causation and the world being what it is...
Anyway, thanks for this.
Varney brought a quiet dignity to that film
Preach. He killed it there.
And in Toy Story.
And in most of the Ernest Does Something movies.
And as Cookie in Atlantis: The Lost Empire (a very underrated movie in my book, a good bit because of the voice acting being so damn good).
For what it's worth, the effort that I went to to torrent his earlier work (commercials and shorts) wasn't really worth it except as a curiosity thing since I am a bit younger than the audience that actually saw that stuff come over the airwaves.
I miss you Jim. As problematic as the Native portrayal was in Goes to Camp you'll always be down with the Blade, the Stone, and the Arrow, the Botswana-nian Lumberjack, "Lettuce! Lettuce! I got your four basic food groups: Beans, Bacon, Whiskey, and Lard", and the best leaky pen scene ever.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:56 AM on February 1, 2018 [3 favorites]
Anyway, thanks for this.
Varney brought a quiet dignity to that film
Preach. He killed it there.
And in Toy Story.
And in most of the Ernest Does Something movies.
And as Cookie in Atlantis: The Lost Empire (a very underrated movie in my book, a good bit because of the voice acting being so damn good).
For what it's worth, the effort that I went to to torrent his earlier work (commercials and shorts) wasn't really worth it except as a curiosity thing since I am a bit younger than the audience that actually saw that stuff come over the airwaves.
I miss you Jim. As problematic as the Native portrayal was in Goes to Camp you'll always be down with the Blade, the Stone, and the Arrow, the Botswana-nian Lumberjack, "Lettuce! Lettuce! I got your four basic food groups: Beans, Bacon, Whiskey, and Lard", and the best leaky pen scene ever.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:56 AM on February 1, 2018 [3 favorites]
Also featured a classic 80's prepping-for-the-fight montage, back when you could still do that sort of thing unironically. I could've sworn the song was Holding Out for a Hero, but apparently it was the stylistically-equivalent Brave Hearts.
posted by dephlogisticated at 9:59 AM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by dephlogisticated at 9:59 AM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
Damn. Me. Too.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:01 AM on February 1, 2018
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:01 AM on February 1, 2018
I know a couple of guys who worked on Earnest Goes To Camp as their first experience in the industry, and they speak reverently about how awesome Jim Varney was to work with, especially compared to everyone they've worked with since then.
posted by vibrotronica at 10:14 AM on February 1, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by vibrotronica at 10:14 AM on February 1, 2018 [8 favorites]
If I were better focused, I might have mentioned Cornbread Communism in the OP. Alas.
posted by Guy Smiley at 10:17 AM on February 1, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Guy Smiley at 10:17 AM on February 1, 2018 [3 favorites]
Ernest movies are a guilty pleasure of mine that pretty much NO ONE in my house shares with me. Or my friends. Or my family. Or even complete strangers on the street.
I am alone in my Ernest-ness.
I remember when Varney died, the stories about what a genuinely wonderful human being he was just started coming out of the woodwork, and they made me feel even better about my love for his damn dorky movies.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 10:19 AM on February 1, 2018 [10 favorites]
I am alone in my Ernest-ness.
I remember when Varney died, the stories about what a genuinely wonderful human being he was just started coming out of the woodwork, and they made me feel even better about my love for his damn dorky movies.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 10:19 AM on February 1, 2018 [10 favorites]
Varney's relatively late-blooming as a performer, his association with a frantic comic character drawn from tv commercials and later moved to children's entertainment, and his relatively young death robbed us of a collective recognition of his profound talent, which I think was starting to dawn on people.
Varney was working on a Hatfield/McCoy project when he died. eeing how good he often was even in bad material (here's a marvelous interview that is marvelous in spite of Chevy Chase as the interviewer, including Varney playing dulcimer), I feel like he would eventually have been recognized as a treasure.
posted by maxsparber at 10:19 AM on February 1, 2018 [5 favorites]
Varney was working on a Hatfield/McCoy project when he died. eeing how good he often was even in bad material (here's a marvelous interview that is marvelous in spite of Chevy Chase as the interviewer, including Varney playing dulcimer), I feel like he would eventually have been recognized as a treasure.
posted by maxsparber at 10:19 AM on February 1, 2018 [5 favorites]
Ooh, thank you. I have never seen any of the Ernest movies; I was living in Arkansas when the original "Hey Vern" commercials came out, and I'd always thought the movies were full of insipid "hick" jokes. (Everyone I knew loved them. But then, everyone I knew at the time watched Dukes of Hazzard and later, Dallas; I pretty much assumed they liked the Ernest movies because they starred someone who talked like them.)
So - new movies to watch! Fun movies with happy endings! Starring an actor I don't have to cringe over when I like his jokes!
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:20 AM on February 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
So - new movies to watch! Fun movies with happy endings! Starring an actor I don't have to cringe over when I like his jokes!
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 10:20 AM on February 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh boy am I also alone in my Ernest lovingness. I hope to sucker my kids into loving them too but I remain pessimistic about it.
And yay ErisLordFreedom, you have much enjoyment ahead. I'm jealous.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:23 AM on February 1, 2018
And yay ErisLordFreedom, you have much enjoyment ahead. I'm jealous.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:23 AM on February 1, 2018
I have not seen anything Ernest since the commercials and whatever late-night interviews he was on, all of which annoyed me at the time as a know-it-all twentysomething, but I'm all aboard the Varney Rehabilitation Tour.
posted by rhizome at 10:26 AM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 10:26 AM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
If this came up on FanFare I would participate.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:28 AM on February 1, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:28 AM on February 1, 2018 [3 favorites]
Ernest Goes To Christmas was posted this past holiday season, but I'd be up for any of the other movies, particularly the one with the pen ink bit. I have precious little intentional farce in my life these days.
posted by rhizome at 10:30 AM on February 1, 2018
posted by rhizome at 10:30 AM on February 1, 2018
[Beverly Hillbillies, The Movie] was no better than you would expect, but I remember thinking that, in the words of Mike Nelson, Varney brought a quiet dignity to that film.
It also, improbably, created a shared universe with Barnaby Jones.
posted by Guy Smiley at 10:34 AM on February 1, 2018
It also, improbably, created a shared universe with Barnaby Jones.
posted by Guy Smiley at 10:34 AM on February 1, 2018
Ernest is the best! I picked up a box set of Ernest movies at Ollie's a couple years ago, which is the most Ernest and Ollie's thing possible.
posted by lagomorphius at 10:41 AM on February 1, 2018
posted by lagomorphius at 10:41 AM on February 1, 2018
I never cared for the Ernest character, but I loved Varney. I interviewed him a couple of times (once when we were both quite tipsy), and he reminded me of half the people I knew growing up. Varney was real Kentucky while Ernest was a Hollywood version of Kentucky.
posted by Miss Cellania at 11:06 AM on February 1, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Miss Cellania at 11:06 AM on February 1, 2018 [13 favorites]
I didn't know any of this, and I appreciate hearing it. :)
posted by mordax at 11:16 AM on February 1, 2018
posted by mordax at 11:16 AM on February 1, 2018
Ernest appeared in the commercials for the local dairy brand in Middle Tennessee, Purity, and as such, made public apperances all over throughout my childhood. I remember one time, when I was well "over it" as a High School student and was all ready to sneer at him, but the group of kids gathered around him at Food Lion were off the charts with glee. So I sat and watched for a while and realized that he was just silly and fun with them, like a clown with no makeup, who talked like they talked, and wasn't pushing any brand, he was happy to mug and dance with the kids, and maybe he was more than I gave him credit for, and maybe there was more to life than irony and being cooler than everything. I never really followed his career much after that, but I'm happy to hear he was a super nice guy who went all out.
I rewatched Ernest Scared Stupid with my wife a few Halloweens back, and while it wasn't a great film, it was a damn fun one that has since been added to my Halloween party rotation, and one that manages to stop almost every party goer in their tracks and generate a few laughs, even if only for a moment. Incidently, one of the baggers at that particular Food Lion where I had seen him, had costarred with him in Ernest Scared Stupid. Movies made in the South used to be a such a small community...
posted by 1f2frfbf at 11:18 AM on February 1, 2018 [8 favorites]
I rewatched Ernest Scared Stupid with my wife a few Halloweens back, and while it wasn't a great film, it was a damn fun one that has since been added to my Halloween party rotation, and one that manages to stop almost every party goer in their tracks and generate a few laughs, even if only for a moment. Incidently, one of the baggers at that particular Food Lion where I had seen him, had costarred with him in Ernest Scared Stupid. Movies made in the South used to be a such a small community...
posted by 1f2frfbf at 11:18 AM on February 1, 2018 [8 favorites]
I first saw him in the Hey Vern commercials. After I got over my initial sneer, I enjoyed everything he did, though there did seem to be an underlying sadness at the nastiness of humanity. Here's a lovely article about our Appalachian dialects: Mountain Speech
posted by MovableBookLady at 11:35 AM on February 1, 2018
posted by MovableBookLady at 11:35 AM on February 1, 2018
If this came up on FanFare I would participate.
Do eet. DOOOO EEEEET.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 11:54 AM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
Do eet. DOOOO EEEEET.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 11:54 AM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've been trying to get my girlfriend to watch Ernest Goes To Jail with me since our first date. Someday I will succeed.
posted by Servo5678 at 12:27 PM on February 1, 2018
posted by Servo5678 at 12:27 PM on February 1, 2018
Someday I will succeed.
Perhaps you're a better man than I but I'd have lost that bet myself.
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:50 PM on February 1, 2018
Perhaps you're a better man than I but I'd have lost that bet myself.
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:50 PM on February 1, 2018
Okay, somebody tell me: How problematic is Ernest Goes to Africa?
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:55 PM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:55 PM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
On a scale from one to 10? Generally 10, until the extended brownface sequence, when it jumps up to 60.
That one is better forgotten.
posted by maxsparber at 1:05 PM on February 1, 2018 [6 favorites]
That one is better forgotten.
posted by maxsparber at 1:05 PM on February 1, 2018 [6 favorites]
It's been over twenty years and I can not remember anything else from Ernest Scared Stupid, but I often will wake up at night or early morning with the urge to chug milk direct from the carton at the fridge, after which I'll let out a little burp and happily proclaim "Authentic. German. Miak!"
posted by mannequito at 1:13 PM on February 1, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by mannequito at 1:13 PM on February 1, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yea, I never saw Ernest Goes to Africa. I think I just knew that my sensitivity to slapdash humor ratio was too high to enjoy that one and decided to not risk it.
posted by RolandOfEld at 1:25 PM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by RolandOfEld at 1:25 PM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
OMG I have found my people. My best friend in elementary and middle school and I loved Ernest and would do a double or triple feature (Scared Stupid, Goes to Camp, and Goes to Jail) pretty much biweekly from 1991-1994. I made my husband watch Goes to Camp in 2016 for the same reasons Elizabeth Catte cites.
I cried during the rainstorm song and my husband laughed. I'm only just now getting over it.
posted by holyrood at 1:56 PM on February 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
I cried during the rainstorm song and my husband laughed. I'm only just now getting over it.
posted by holyrood at 1:56 PM on February 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
For all the Ernest fans here, I'd like to suggest Ernest Goes To Podcast, a stellar podcast that goes over the whole Ernoeuvré. It's a great podcast period, well produced and hilarious. And I learned about it from a previous Ernest thread!
posted by smasuch at 2:12 PM on February 1, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by smasuch at 2:12 PM on February 1, 2018 [9 favorites]
(favorited for "Ernoeuvré")
posted by Spathe Cadet at 3:36 PM on February 1, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Spathe Cadet at 3:36 PM on February 1, 2018 [6 favorites]
No mention of his excellent kid's show? It was funny and he did some non-Ernest characters.
posted by emjaybee at 8:23 PM on February 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 8:23 PM on February 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
He was also the best thing about Pink Lady & Jeff, but... well.....
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 9:10 PM on February 1, 2018
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 9:10 PM on February 1, 2018
And he endowed a four-year, full-ride scholarship (pdf link) at UCLA for students from Kentucky or Tennessee who want to pursue a career in theater/performing arts.
posted by mogget at 9:33 PM on February 1, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by mogget at 9:33 PM on February 1, 2018 [8 favorites]
I still remember the song from Ernest Goes to Camp. Which is mind blowing as I remember not really liking the movie at the time, or at least being embarrassed at liking it later. Seeing some clips of Varney on talk shows, I can see how he was so effective and great. In certain ways, I think he was the necessary precursor for Jim Carey, especially The Mask and the Ace Ventura movies. He also played a damn fine Appalachian dulcimer.
posted by Hactar at 7:35 AM on February 2, 2018
posted by Hactar at 7:35 AM on February 2, 2018
I've started without y'all.
The three year old daughter and I are about an hour into Camp as of this AM and she is enjoying it, or at least all the parts with Jim Varney (and bulldozers/dumptrucks because reasons). We will resume this later and hopefully create another generation of Ernest fandom.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:49 AM on February 2, 2018
The three year old daughter and I are about an hour into Camp as of this AM and she is enjoying it, or at least all the parts with Jim Varney (and bulldozers/dumptrucks because reasons). We will resume this later and hopefully create another generation of Ernest fandom.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:49 AM on February 2, 2018
... based on a quick internet googling...
Holy crap y'all, was "Gee, I'm Glad It's Raining" really written and/or started with Varney in Goes to Camp? Am I an idiot for not knowing that? I would have put a decent amount of money on the assumption that it was him doing a cover-slash-singing a song from the past that was more popular. I guess that just shows how much it impressed itself upon me in my younger days.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:55 AM on February 2, 2018
Holy crap y'all, was "Gee, I'm Glad It's Raining" really written and/or started with Varney in Goes to Camp? Am I an idiot for not knowing that? I would have put a decent amount of money on the assumption that it was him doing a cover-slash-singing a song from the past that was more popular. I guess that just shows how much it impressed itself upon me in my younger days.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:55 AM on February 2, 2018
The man is a musical genius. Transcribed by a native speaker because god. damn. this is brilliant.
I don't know where you ar' at times,
I don't know where you go.
If I'da knowed 'dat you'd have wanted to have went with me,
I'da see'd 'at you'd have got ta git to go.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:08 AM on February 2, 2018 [4 favorites]
I don't know where you ar' at times,
I don't know where you go.
If I'da knowed 'dat you'd have wanted to have went with me,
I'da see'd 'at you'd have got ta git to go.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:08 AM on February 2, 2018 [4 favorites]
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