''Slam Dunk Ernest'' is a 1995 American

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

sports comedy A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the sp ...

film, and the eighth full-length feature film starring

Jim Varney James Albert Varney Jr. (June 15, 1949 – February 10, 2000) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his broadly comedic role as Ernest P. Worrell, for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award, as well as appearing in films and n ...

Ernest P. Worrell Ernest P. Worrell is a fictional character portrayed by American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials and later in a television series (''Hey Vern, It's Ernest!'') as well as a series of feature films. Ernest was created with ...

. It was released

, and was directed by long-time Ernest collaborator John Cherry. In this film, Ernest joins his employer's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team and later becomes a star with the help of an angel (

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim ...

). It was the third and final ''Ernest'' film to be shot in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Plot summary

Ernest takes a job with a cleaning service at the local mall, and he soon seeks to join his co-workers'

team, "Clean Sweep", as they compete in the city league tournament. He is reluctantly accepted by the team, but given only a minor role as their

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

and

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fic ...

. In his despair, he is visited by an

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inc ...

, and given a pair of magical shoes, but is warned, "Don't misuse the shoes." As a matter of fact, the shoe store's owner, Zamiel Moloch happens to be a demon in disguise. He would eventually prevent Ernest's sportsmanship with the basketball players by luring Ernest to arrogance, and Ernest's love interest, Erma Terradiddle, a formerly shy girl into a money-hungry vamp, all in an effort to gain Quincy the son the lead player. When an injury to a key player leaves the team desperate for a replacement, Ernest is given an opportunity to play. In the process, he discovers that the supernatural shoes have imbued him with super speed and the ability to fly. Armed with these extraordinary abilities, he leads the team to a series of victories leading ultimately to a showdown with the NBA's

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

. As the city league tournament champions, Clean Sweep earns the right to play an

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

contest against the Hornets, but suffers turmoil as Ernest's teammates soon grow weary of his flagrant over-the-top ball-hogging antics. All the while Quincy goes to steal a pair of tennis shoes he has had his eyes on. While Ernest is in the zone and the team does nothing but sit around, Ernest decides to let the team do the work, wash his hands of Moloch and Erma, and get rid of the shoes, in doing so it influences Quincy to return the shoes, but Ernest is needed again and scores (along with causing some mishaps) the game-winning point and the members of the team get drafted into the NBA, after a real agent recognizes Barry's skill.

Cast

as The Archangel of Basketball *

Jay Brazeau Jay Brazeau is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Sam Fisher in ''Cold Squad'', as Harlan in ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997–2007), and for voicing Uncle Quigley in '' Sabrina: The Animated Series''. He is also known for his role as Bobby in ...

as Mr. Zamiel Moloch *

Louise Vallance Stephanie Louise Vallance, commonly known as Stevie Vallance, also credited as Louise Vallance during the 1970s90s, is a Canadian actress, musician, composer and director who has worked on numerous films and television series, both live-action and ...

as Miss Erma Terradiddle * Cylk Cozart as Barry Worth * Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as T.J. * Aaron Joseph as Quincy

Home media

Originally released on VHS on June 20, 1995, a LaserDisc release was also planned for the same year, but later cancelled. This film had its first DVD release on June 10, 2003 from

Touchstone Home Entertainment Touchstone may refer to: * Touchstone (assaying tool), a stone used to identify precious metals * Touchstone (metaphor), a means of assaying relative merits of a concept Entertainment * ''Touchstone'' (album), a 1982 album by Chick Corea * ...

Lions Gate Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian- American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

re-released it on March 23, 2007. Disney re-released it as part of the Ernest 2-Movie Collection along with '' Ernest Goes to Jail'' on February 10, 2008.

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

re-released it as part of Ernest's Wacky Adventures: Volume 2 along with ''

Ernest Goes to School ''Ernest Goes to School'' is a 1994 American comedy film written and directed by Coke Sams and starring Jim Varney. It is the seventh film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell and the final to be released theatrically, although it only open ...

'', '' Ernest Goes to Africa'' and '' Hey Vern, It's My Family Album'' on June 5, 2012.

References

External links

* {{Ernest series 1995 films 1995 direct-to-video films 1990s sports comedy films American basketball films Ernest P. Worrell films Films directed by John R. Cherry III American sports comedy films 1995 comedy films Films shot in Vancouver 1990s English-language films 1990s American films