Movies Like Ernest Goes to Jail

If you liked Ernest Goes to Jail (1990), a comedy and family movie directed by John Cherry, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Bandits (2001)
★ 6.3/10Also comedy and crime
After escaping from prison, Joe and Terry go on a crime spree, robbing banks through Oregon and California in order to finance their scheme for a new life south of the border. Unfortunately, things get more complicated…
2
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994)
★ 6.5/10Also comedy and crime
Frank Drebin is persuaded out of retirement to go undercover in a state prison. There he has to find out what top terrorist, Rocco, has planned for when he escapes. Adding to his problems, Frank's wife, Jane, is…
3
How to Rob a Bank (2007)
★ 5.8/10Also comedy and crime
Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.
4
The Ladykillers (2004)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and crime
An eccentric, if not charming Southern professor and his crew pose as a band in order to rob a casino, all under the nose of his unsuspecting landlord – a sharp old woman.
5
Mad Money (2008)
★ 6.5/10Also comedy and crime
Three female employees of the Federal Reserve plot to steal money that is about to be destroyed.
6
Blue Streak (1999)
★ 6.5/10Also comedy and crime
Miles Logan is a jewel thief who just hit the big time by stealing a huge diamond. However, after two years in jail, he comes to find out that he hid the diamond in a police building that was being built at the time of…
7
Big Momma's House (2000)
★ 5.8/10Also crime and comedy
When a street-smart FBI agent is sent to Georgia to protect a beautiful single mother and her son from an escaped convict, he is forced to impersonate a crass Southern granny known as Big Momma in order to remain…
8
Oscar (1991)
★ 6.4/10Also comedy and crime
Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets…
9
Family Plot (1976)
★ 6.8/10Also comedy and crime
Spiritualist Blanche Tyler and her cab-driving boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.
10
Fletch (1985)
★ 6.7/10Also comedy and crime
When investigative reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher goes undercover to write a piece on the drug trade at a local beach, he's approached by wealthy businessman Alan Stanwyk, who offers him $50,000 to murder him. With…
11
Tough Guys (1986)
★ 6/10Also comedy and crime
Harry Doyle and Archie Lang are two old-time train robbers, who held up a train in 1956 and have been incarcerated for thirty years. After serving their time, they are released from jail and have to adjust to a new…
12
The Ladykillers (1955)
★ 7.3/10Also comedy and crime
Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.
13
Nothing to Lose (1997)
★ 6.6/10Also comedy and crime
Advertising executive Nick Beame learns that his wife is sleeping with his employer. In a state of despair, he encounters a bumbling thief whose attempted carjacking goes awry when Nick takes him on an involuntary…
14
The Hustle (2019)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and crime
Two female scam artists, one low rent and the other high class, compete to swindle a naïve tech prodigy out of his fortune. A remake of the 1988 comedy "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
15
Welcome to Collinwood (2002)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and crime
Five hapless inner-city low-lifes attempt to burgle a pawnbroker's safe, but end up being plagued by bad luck.
16
Thunderstruck (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and family
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
17
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
★ 7.3/10Also comedy and crime
When the bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin investigates events following the shooting of his partner, he stumbles upon an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.
18
National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and crime
An LA detective is murdered because she has microfilm with the recipe to make cocaine cookies. Two cops partner to find and stop the fiends before they can dope the nation by distributing their wares via the…
19
The Thursday Murder Club (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also comedy and crime
A group of senior sleuths passionate about solving cold cases get plunged into a real-life murder mystery in this comic crime caper.
20
Bandidas (2006)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and crime
When a ruthless robber baron takes away everything they cherish, a rough-and-tumble, idealistic peasant and a sophisticated heiress embark on a quest for justice, vengeance…and a few good heists.