Jim Varney plays a character I love to hate but still can't seem to stop watching: Astor Clement. Jim pulls off this hoity toity, snooty, know-it-all really well. Basically, Astor thinks he's smarter than everyone else on the planet. It's obvious with quotes like, "The shallow end of the gene pool, where you swim" or "Are you working class, a common person. I'm not." It's hard to believe that he is the same guy that is best known as Ernest P. Worrell, that lovable, clumsy, sweetheart of a guy that didn't have a pretentious bone in his body. There are some familiar gags in here and that's what makes it fun. Others actors doing the same gags in shows eventually become stale, but when watching an 'Ernest' film, I wait in anticipation to see when he will have the window slammed on his hands or if Vern pushes him from the ladder or when he gets electrocuted. Varney is comfortable and familiar, almost like Linus with his blue blanket. In 'Your World As I See It', Astor shows us what he thinks of our world as he sees it. Most of the time, it's to make fun of Ernest and his brain capacity which I do not like. For example: "If fish is brain food, then Ernest P. Worrell is using an unbaited hook." I still laughed but found myself talking to the t.v. telling Astor to stop messing with Ernest. Go figure. I know all these characters are Jim Varney but he plays them so distinctly, you tend to forget. So far, I've counted over 50 different characters and/or voices that Varney did for the 'Ernest genre'. I ask you this, can you find me an actor today that can do that? Can you find me an actor that can keep their lives together long enough to play even ONE character that well? Varney was a rare talent. He was truly gifted and had more skill in his one finger than most actors have in their entire body. Totally underrated and didn't get the credit he deserved. Though, true Ernest fans will still stick with his films forever.
