Review of Slam Dunk Ernest (1995) by Robert I — 10 Apr 2011

Even though I love every Ernest movie, there are a few things in this one that ticked me off. First, I think Ernest gets mistreated worse in this than in any other Ernest movie ever made. The Clean Sweep team didn't really want him to play and all Ernest wanted was to be a part of a team.

They called him a 'Dumb Redneck' a few times, they mocked him, made fun of him and it made me want to shove that basketball so far up their butts, it would come out of their heads. Only when Ernest starts winning do they 'like' him until he starts becoming the star of the team.

I kept thinking, "Shoot, Ernest, you can win for losing, can you?" Yes, the fame does go to Ernest's head a little bit and maybe that was because he was finally getting some attention. He recovers back to his Ernest self in the end and the story does have an important lesson to learn.

Success doesn't fall into your lap. You have to work hard for it. And Ernest didn't really care about being a huge star, he just wanted to be included. He was warned not to misuse the shoes and when he did, things started messing up for him even worse.

And he didn't want to turn Quincy against his father, Barry. Erma was such a gold digger, that she definitely didn't deserve to be with Ernest or even in the same room as Ernest and it was great to see him tell Erma and Zimmel to leave him alone because they weren't who he thought they were.

I love this film but I just wished they didn't write the script where the team lays into Ernest like they did. I get downright maternal when it comes to Ernest and I feel the need to protect him from the bullies in this world.

We miss you, Jim.