Slam Dunk Ernest
Directed by	John R. Cherry III
Written by	John R. Cherry III Daniel Butler
Produced by	George Horie Stacy Williams
Starring	Jim Varney Cylk Cozart Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Colin Lawrence Miguel A. Núñez Jr. Jay Brazeau Louise Vallance
Cinematography	David Geddes
Edited by	Craig Bassett Chris Ellis
Music by	Mark Adler
Production companies	Emshell Producers Pacific Motion Pictures
Distributed by	Emshell Producers Group, Inc.
Release date	June 20, 1995 (1995-06-20)
Running time	93 minutes
Countries	Canada United States
Language	English
Budget	$3 million[1]

Slam Dunk Ernest is a 1995 American direct-to-video sports comedy film. It is the eighth film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell, and the seventh in the Ernest series. It was directed by Ernest creator John R. Cherry III and starring Jim Varney. In this film, Ernest joins his employer's basketball team and later becomes a star with the help of an angel (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). It was the third and final Ernest film to be shot in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Plot

Ernest takes a job with a cleaning service at the local mall, and he soon seeks to join his co-workers' basketball 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 and mascot. They start to regret letting Ernest join when he accidentally causes them to lose a game in the last second.

In his despair, he is visited by an angel, 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 money-loving lady who was a formerly shy but cheerful geek turned into a beautiful but tawdry seductress, all in an effort to gain Quincy, the son of the lead player.

When an injury to a key player threatens to eliminate the team from the tournament unless they find a backup player, 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. As the city league tournament champions, Clean Sweep earns the right to play an exhibition 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

• Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell
• Cylk Cozart as Barry
• Aaron Joseph as Quincy
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as Archangel
• Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as T.J.
• Jay Brazeau as Mr. Moloch
• Louise Vallance as Erma

Home media

Originally released on VHS on June 20, 1995, a LaserDisc release was also planned for the same year, but later cancelled.^[2] This film had its first DVD release on June 10, 2003 from Touchstone Home Entertainment.^{[citation needed]} Lions Gate Entertainment re-released it on March 23, 2007.^{[citation needed]} Disney re-released it as part of the "Ernest 2-Movie Collection" along with Ernest Goes to Jail on February 10, 2008.^{[citation needed]} Image Entertainment re-released it as part of "Ernest's Wacky Adventures: Volume 2" along with Ernest Goes to School, Ernest Goes to Africa and Hey Vern, It's My Family Album on June 5, 2012.^{[citation needed]}