This is officially the first film in the long running Ernest series. It was based on a series of commercials. Ernest himself actually only has two minutes of screen time in the entire movie. He turns into this supervillain named Dr. Otto. At least I think that's him or does he turn into Ernest? He tries to take over the world by destroying the economy.A lot of this seems to be filmed in the dark, but it also surprisingly has a lot of color. My favorite part is when there's a newspaper that says "Francs Collapse", only for a guy named Frank to literally collapse. I thought this was a compilation film at first. It kind of was, as we got to see Jim Varney in all these different personas that did seem like separate parts. The film isn't memorable, but is completely harmless. It's the highest rated Ernest movie here, but I'd probably say "Ernest Saves Christmas" is the best, not that any of them are technically good. **1/2

DR. OTTO AND THE RIDDLE OF THE GLOOM BEAM is an odd and wacky children's comedy of the mid 1980s, one replete with science fiction staples and more than bizarre costumes. The dialogue is a waste of time and most of the reason to tune in is to see Jim Varney, the future comedy actor, playing a crazy megalomaniac complete with a hand attached to the top of his head. It's a cheap costume for sure, but somehow effective. The rest is a mix of exaggerated acting and a campy tone; it's fast paced and has lots of action and humour, even if it is really cheap.

This movie is strangely surreal, and if you're an Ernest/Jim Varney fan in the least, you'll really enjoy it. The film starts a bit slow, but really starts to come together when we learn the connection between bumbling hero Lance Sterling (great name!) and pussy-willow-adorned, third-hand-on-his-head villain Dr. Otto. Willie the Robot is also a hoot, what with his changing smiley-face expressions, and Lance's assistant Doris is the brains behind the hero. Auntie Nelda is fall-down funny, especially when she's discussing her "dear, departed nephew Hymie" or clubbing creatures on the floor with a toxin-laden ladle.There are a lot of little clever bits and dialog that make the movie enjoyable. It may be hard to find, so good luck!

You can't describe this as the first Ernest movie because it's not part of the Ernest-movie genre. It's a wickedly weird comic masterpiece that will have you laughing out loud.