Jim Varney, Gailard Sartain, Barbara Tyson and Randall 'Tex' Cobb star in this 1990 comedy sequel. the late, Varney returns as bumbling, nice guy, Ernest who works as a custodian at a Bank. Soon, he's assigned jury duty and finds himself in jail when switched with a dangerous, look-alike criminal, Nash (Also played by Varney). Ernest tries to act like Nash to avoid suspicion with help from felon, Lyle (Cobb) and eventually escapes after gaining an electromagnetic ability. He tries to stop Nash from robbing the Bank and taking over his life. Tyson plays Charlotte, a bank secretary who likes Ernest and Sartain plays Ernest's pal, Chuck who works as the bank's security guard. This is my favorite of the Ernest films and Varney was great in both roles. I recommend this.

This time, the lovable dimwit gets summoned for jury duty, where a corrupt attorney notices that he looks like a jailbird who wants to break out, so the two get switched. Of course, most of the movie is a series of gags; in "Ernest Goes to Jail", most of the gags relate to electricity. I really liked the whole vacuum cleaner sequence early on. Overall, the point of the movie is just to have fun, and I'm sure that you will. This is possibly the ultimate movie that you watch with a bud. It's quite safe to say that Jim Varney will truly be missed. Knowwhaddamean? FYI: the only other cast member whom I recognized was Randall "Tex" Cobb, who played Lyle. You've surely seen him somewhere.

While saying this is the best Ernest movie is NOT a glowing endorsement, this is a decent film and you could certainly do worse. It's a time-passer, certainly--not a film you run out to rent or buy for full retail! What makes this movie more tolerable is that the movie is not aimed solely at stupid people and small children. No, adults might also be mildly amused by the antics. It certainly isn't high art but for what it is, it works well. So, if your kids are nagging you to see it, give it a chance. It's not bad--really! PS--if you tolerate or actually love this film, also try watching Ernest Saves Christmas. Then, STOP. You'll have seen all the Ernest movies worth watching.