what was so irresistible about Madeleine other than her looks and flattery??
Looks and flattery. Hmm, I think I could make that work.
Any money involved? I'm all yours.
I prefer the toad less raveled

Not much which is why he seemed to quickly regret his marrying of her and turned to drink. Helen initially was rather dull and plain though and I think Earnest was just bowled over by Mad's celebrity status and as you say, her flattery.
In reality 7 years on and she was waking up with a practically mummified face
"These days you have to boil someone before you can sleep with them"

Ernest is a complex character. he's not a bad guy, he's weak and his self-esteem was totally destroyed by Mad.
As for Helen, well he didn't pass the Madalaine Ashton test! it was her idea to introduce them, and he failed, boo-hoo.
I just wonder, what was so irresistible about Madeleine other than her looks and flattery??
Viva Clark Gable, el eterno y nico Rey de Hollywood

Total jerk. Totally deserved it. Not sorry for him at all.

Yeah, I agree, I think the movie wants us to feel sorry for Ernest, but he's a jerk. (Not to mention Zemeckis wanted to give him a happy ending, when he already gets off scot-free.)

Ernest did get what he deserved. Madeleine didn't care about him; she wanted to
possess
him, just to spite Helen, and Ernest married Madeleine for little more than her looks. He made his bed and lay in it. But he actually learned his lesson before it was too late. Madeleine and Helen, on the other hand, who were shallow and superficial shrews, did not. And they got what they deserved; spending the rest of time wallowing in their own misery and vapidity, unable to die, with no one to rely on but each other, while their bodies decay and fall apart.
"Does your society have any other adjectives besides 'great'?" - Pvt. Church

SPOILERS
Did you know the original ending was that Madeline and Helen were bored after living many years (possibly hundreds). They changed it to something much ickier for them - breaking into 10,000 pieces and never dying.

Hmm. You have a great point now that you mentioned it. It is better for Ernest to abandon Helen while they were engaged instead of married. Still, Helen shouldn't have remained friends with Madeline and introduced Ernest mainly to test him even though it's kind of understanding. As for Ernest, he paid royally when he married Madeline which was an obviously loveless marriage, and I think he wasn't happy with his career as a mortician since he was unable to keep up the practice of medicine and surgery. Even though he more or less redeemed himself in the end, karma made sure to get a hold of him.

Well, Helen knew Ernest would wind up meeting Madeline at some point. She felt it was better that if he was going to dump Helen, it wouldn't be quite as bad if he did it BEFORE they were married. By the way, Goldie looked her prettiest in this movie, but I never saw her with red hair again. Oh well!

You're right. It was partly Helen's fault for this situation. She shouldn't have introduced Ernest to Madeline in the first place and for that matter, even stayed friends with her. Especially if it was to test him even though he was just as much to blame for things like dumping her and marrying Madeline.

I'd say Helen is just as vile.
Remember, she introduced Earnest to Madeline specifically to test him.
I mean, regardless of the outcome, that's a pure dick move.
::in the room with no doors, a faceless boy playing with makeup
I love him from this mirror::

I agree with everything you say and more. If I pitied any one of the characters it was Helen. Sure she should've dropped Madeline from her life a long time ago, but still.