Favorite Underappreciated Fictional Characters – Big Ern

Welcome to another edition of “Favorite Underappreciated Fictional Characters.” In this series, Gord and I will discuss fictional characters we loved in the 80s and 90s who, for whatever reason, didn’t get the cred they deserved for being awesome. Sometimes they were too obscure for the public eye, sometimes they were simply overshadowed by a fellow character, etc. Here at GordTep.com, we are happy and proud to give them the praise they deserve. This week, we have…

ERNIE McCRACKEN

Too many people haven’t seen Kingpin and therefore don’t know about Bill Murray’s best role ever. Easily one of the funniest and most ruthless villains in cinematic history, he ranks third on my all-time list of Best Antagonists (behind Joker and Stansfield).

As Bill Murray allegedly does in most of his movies, he does not stick to the script. In fact, according to the Farrelly Brothers, every line from Big Ern is just Bill Murray off the cuff, and it goes without saying he’s at the top of his game in this one.

Ernie McCracken is glorified by the media despite being a hall of fame prick… and well, now he’s glorified by me. If you’re a Bill Murray fan and you haven’t seen Kingpin, see it. You won’t regret it.