Ernest Goes to Camp is a 1987 American comedy film directed by John R. Cherry III and starring Jim Varney. It is the second film to feature the character of Ernest P. Worrell and was shot at Montgomery Bell State Park. It was also the first Ernest film to be distributed by Touchstone Pictures, and Iron Eyes Cody's final appearance on screen.
Video Ernest Goes to Camp
Plot
A pow wow opening features a medicine man tossing a knife and tomahawk at a young brave warrior to test his faith in the Great Spirit and true courage. He also shoots an arrow at him to test his purity of heart. Centuries later, Ernest P. Worrell works as a maintenance man at Kamp Kikakee but hopes to become a counselor. With his typical enthusiasm, he pours himself into the role and quickly becomes a valuable addition to the staff, in particular for his passion at learning the sign language used by Kikakee's owner, Chief St. Cloud, who does not speak English.
A small group of juvenile delinquents from Midstate Boys Detention Center, the Second Chancers, are among the campers at Kikakee. Head Counselor Tipton assigns Ross Stennis (Eddy Schumacher) as their counselor. Stennis is quite unhappy with this, and treats the boys with harsh authoritarianism. This comes to a head when the boys topple his lifeguard perch into the lake. This leaves Stennis with a serious leg injury and unable to perform as a counselor. Recognizing that the camp is already shorthanded, Tipton offers Stennis' position to an overjoyed Ernest.
The Second Chancers initially give Ernest trouble, but they start to show a little respect during a campfire session when Nurse St. Cloud translates her grandfather's description of the warrior initiation ritual for his tribe. The initiate must hold still while a knife, a stone hatchet, and an arrow are thrown or shot at the target. It is implied that the courage of the young warrior actually alters the course of all three to prevent his death. They build a tepee and wish to display it, only to find it burned. The Second Chancers discover that Pennington, one of the regular campers, is responsible, and a fight ensues. Tipton is poised to expel the Second Chancers, but Ernest persuades him to give them another chancer.
Meanwhile, an evil mining corporation run by the ruthless Sherman Krader has its sights on Kikakee, a site rich with the fictional mineral petrocite. However, Chief St. Cloud refuses to sell. Krader manipulates Ernest, one of the few people who speaks the chief's language, into convincing St. Cloud to sign away the land, believing it to be a conservation petition. Using Ernest as an interpreter, St. Cloud signs the deed away. Tipton sadly announces to the camp that the Chief signed away the land, and the camp must close. Nurse St. Cloud confronts Ernest, the only one besides herself who could communicate with Chief St. Cloud. He stammers that he will fix the situation.
With the Second Chancers in tow, Ernest storms into the construction site and demands words with the boss. Krader is not present, so the foreman (Lyle Alzado) meets Ernest's challenge instead, savagely beating him up. A dispirited Ernest then leaves the camp for a while to be alone. When Nurse St. Cloud overhears the kids verbally demeaning Ernest's effort, she chastises them and reveals that Ernest is the only person who has defended them, both to the authorities and to the camp staff, mostly because he was the only one who really cared about them. When they learn about the sacrifices that Ernest has made on their behalf, they resolve to find him and apologize.
Krader is poised to demolish Kikakee, and when the regular staff and campers are sent home, the group decides to risk openly attacking the construction site to stall for time. Recruiting the Second Chancers and the chefs Jake and Eddie, Ernest plans a full-scale assault as the construction company begins to demolish Kikakee; they are later joined by their regular camper rivals, Pennington and Brooks.
The group works feverishly to create a series of improvised, non-lethal weapons. Prior to the attack, Chief St. Cloud arrives to pass along a native blessing, though Nurse St. Cloud begs them not to go through with it, warning that legal representation is needed. The assault quickly cripples the construction site's equipment. However, the foreman escapes in a bulldozer and destroys several camp buildings. The group stops him by filling the back of Ernest's motorized maintenance cart with explosives (including Jake and Eddie's Eggs Erroneous) and rolling it into the bulldozer. Ernest then knocks out the foreman.
Krader, along with his lawyer, arrives. Angered at the sabotage, he pulls out his high-powered hunting rifle, targeting Ernest. Echoing Kikakee's ancient testimonial pow wow, Ernest faces down Krader and apparently passes the age old test as Krader takes three shots at him, missing every time. Ernest then plugs Krader's hunting rifle with his finger and laughs in his face, signaling his defeat. Aside, Krader's lawyer remarks that Krader has finally encountered a force too powerful for him to deal with. As Krader retreats, Nurse St. Cloud returns with an injunction against the demolition.
Some time later, Kamp Kikakee is operational with all campers and a full staff again. Nurse St. Cloud thanks Ernest for all he has done, and reveals Krader was arrested for fraud. Chief St. Cloud now seems to understand English, and Ernest is a full-fledged counselor. When trying to rebuild the Kamp Kikakee sign, Ernest (in his usual way) falls.
Maps Ernest Goes to Camp
Cast
Reception
Ernest Goes to Camp was the best received of the franchise, earning a 62% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating a mixed to positive response. However, Varney was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award as Worst New Star.
Box office
The film was a box office success.
Soundtrack
The songs were written by Alice and Shane Keister.
- Ashley Cleveland sang "We're Gonna Win this One" while the boy campers are building their teepee.
- Gary Chapman sang "Brave Hearts" during the film and in the credits.
- Ernest sang "Gee I'm Glad It's Raining" when he and other campers are sad about the camp's closing.
- The song used when Ernest sends box turtles by parachute on Krader's men is "Happy Together," a song which was written and recorded by the musical group The Turtles. It also serves as a theme song of the film.
Home media
This film's first DVD release was on September 3, 2002, from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Mill Creek Entertainment re-released it on January 18, 2011, as part of the two-disc set Ernest Triple Feature along with Ernest Goes to Jail and Ernest Scared Stupid. They also released the film for the first time on Blu-ray on March 29, 2011, in a single disc Double Feature set along with Ernest Goes to Jail, and later on its own Blu-ray on June 13, 2011. A second Blu-ray double feature with Camp Nowhere was released on March 26, 2013.
References
External links
- Ernest Goes to Camp on IMDb
- Ernest Goes to Camp at AllMovie
- Ernest Goes to Camp at Rotten Tomatoes
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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