RIP Jim Varney. Like the man said, without Jim Varney, there is no Ernest.
We need more character actors. Have there been any good ones since Borat?
I would argue even Baron-Cohen isn’t that great. The genius of Varney (and his contemporary Jeffrey Combs) is that they can portray these consistent characters without strongly leaning into insulting stereotypes.
Oh man Jim had some offensive scenes with some of his character offshoots. The old lady being one.
I’ve always seen most of Baron-Cohen’s stuff as satire for people who hate subtlety and want to feel superior to others.
Alas poor Vern, I knew him well.
I never realized that he was a handsome man IRL. How odd.
And BTW, I can’t stand to see Shakespeare acted that way. FFS, the characters are supposed to be alive. Go watch some Kenneth Branagh and/or Emma Thompson. Best yet, check out the 90s version of Romeo and Juliet with DiCaprio and Danes. Holy shit. I’ve never understood a Shakespeare work so clearly.
