This was the first "Ernest" movie, I think, that I watched and I was surprised that it wasn't as stupid as I thought it was or the title convinced me it would be. It really wasn't "stupid" until the last 20 minutes, but a lot of movies get really dumb in the last half hour.
For most of the movie, it was nice, lighthearted fun that - cliché aside - is fun for the "whole family." There is nary a bad one word in this movie and it's old-fashioned slapstick fun and about as innocent as it gets.
Having said that, I realize a lot of people would still consider the movie as a dumb one but I always liked Jim Varney and laughed at the most of the stuff he did, beginning with those famous TV commercials of his.
In the last 30 years, how many comedies do you see without a tons of sex and profanity? Almost none......so give "Ernest" some slack.