Bernie

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Bernie

73% Liked It
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Bernie

Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey, Brady Coleman, Richard Robichaux

In the tiny, rural town of Carthage, TX, assistant funeral director Bernie Tiede was one of the town's most beloved residents. He taught Sunday school, sang in the church choir and was always willing ... read more read more...to lend a helping hand. Everyone loved and appreciated Bernie, so it came as no surprise when he befriended Marjorie Nugent, an affluent widow who was as well known for her sour attitude as her fortune. Bernie frequently traveled with Marjorie and even managed her banking affairs. Marjorie quickly became fully dependent on Bernie and his generosity and Bernie struggled to meet her increasing demands. Bernie continued to handle her affairs, and the townspeople went months without seeing Marjorie. The people of Carthage were shocked when it was reported that Marjorie Nugent had been dead for some time, and Bernie Tiede was being charged with the murder. -- (C) Official Site

Id: 11163219

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Bernie Recent Reviews
  • aquateen2
    May 1, 2013
    aquateen2
    [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]
  • romy861
    April 13, 2013
    romy861
    Has its moments, but mostly I was bored or distracted watching this one. Not sure why. Performances all good. Liked the small town USA setting. Maybe my mood at the time? Really did think I would enjoy this more than I did. Maybe it was the "documentary" style that distracted me.... read more Very good acting from Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black.
  • katykern8261
    February 9, 2013
    katykern8261
    Question: Are you a fan of Jack Black? If so, you might want to check out Bernie. It came out last year. Many probably missed the theatrical release because it did not stay out for very long. What a pity since I think this may be Jack Black's best performance to date.

    Jack Bla... read moreck is entertaining in everything he does: Tenacious D, his comedic roles and even his dramatic roles which there aren't many. He is a true original and has talent in abundance, but many only acquaint him with the sidekick comedic portrayals when his career started to take off.

    We may all know him best as the short, over-weight Shallow Hal, the bombastic monk Nacho Libre, or the one-track-mind guitar player in The School of Rock once he started obtaining lead roles. His stint in King Kong was the closest to his most dramatic reach but the overall film was a mess that his performance was muddled and soon forgotten. However, I promise that you have never seen Jack Black quite this way as he portrays real-life Bernie Tiede.

    The same director of Slacker, The School of Rock, Dazed and Confused, and Before Sunrise, Richard Linklater delved into this true tale from a different perspective - which is something he appears to do with all his films. His style of directing is so diverse that it's hard to pinpoint a "type" per se; except that he appears to tell stories about ordinary people in unique situations that other storytellers might not want to tackle.

    Bernie is just such a story and was perfect for Linklater's filmmaker abilities. He even told this one differently than his past films with an almost documentary feel with interviews of (real) townspeople intermixed throughout the entire film. The story is based on a newspaper article from Texas that came out a few years back about a man, an assistant funeral director, who was probably the most respected man in town - with good reason - but who is arrested because of an unspeakable act. No one in the town wants to believe it except for the DA Danny Buck, played by Matthew McConaughy.

    Jack Black's performance was stellar. Bernie was a very kind man; an overly generous person whose sole purpose in life was to make sure people felt comforted when bereaved or not alone when others may have stopped caring. Bernie was liked by all, and by Jack Black's portrayal, you can see why.

    Bernie's kindness, however, was pushed to the edge and beyond when he befriended a mean, lonely widow played by Shirley MacClaine. Watching Jack Black play this relatively non-comedic character (Bernie is a black comedy) did take a few minutes to get used to. There was always that cusp of whether to laugh or not, but Linklater and Black kept it at a good balance without cheapening the quality of the character or going too cliché.

    As you witness this man and what he is trying to do with his life, you are simply swept away by the performance. You will forget that he was the stoner brother of Colin Hanks, a Neil Diamond impersonator trying to save his friend or the goof-ball, record-store snob. Well done, Jack Black.

    Review: 8 out of 10
  • cosmo313
    December 19, 2012
    cosmo313
    Before I saw this movie, I knew that Jack Black was a talented performer. Now that I've seen this, I can tell you that he really can act, not just as an exaggerated version of his real self, but truly act act, like genuine thespians do. I really hope he gets awards recognition fo... read morer this, because he really deserves it.

    Black stars in this darkly comedic docudrama based on the real life story of Bernie Tiede- a very effeminate assistant funeral director in the small east Texas town of Carthage, who has the most sunny disposition ever. He is a highly regarded model citizen known for warming even the coldest of hearts. And that's exactly what happens when he befriends Marjorie Nugent- a recently widowed wealthy lady who has a reputation for being very cold, mean, and unpopular in town. Bernie and Marjorie become extremely close, but things turn real sour when, fed up with Marjorie's neediness and badgering, Bernie kills her, hides the body in a freezer, then proceeds to keep up the illusion she's still alive. He also taps into her fortune, but uses the money to help out the community instead of for personal gain.

    The film is peppered with 'talking head' - style interview moments conducted with actual residents from Carthage who knew the real Bernie and Marjorie, and I thought this was a neat way to portray things. The insights provided by the people make for a great juxtaposition with the performances by the actors, and it's amazing to see how well the fictional portrayals match up with the descriptions of the real life people.

    What might be best of all is how the film doesn't really take a stance on how you should feel about these people. Linklater just presents things and let's it take off on its own from there. It's also a great strength that the performances of these characters come off as 3-dimensional and developed instead of caricatures, which would have been easy to do, especially in Black's case since Bernie has so many quirks. It does start off as one-note, but does eventually grow into something quite substantial.

    This is a strong film, but not perfect. For one, the balance in tone is a litle wavering at times, but to be fair, I expected that, given the nature of the story. Also, while the film is funny (mostly pitch black), it's not quite as humorous as Linklater probably thinks it is. It also seems like the film is rather directionless, or maybe purposeless at times, but not enough to completely derail the production.

    While I know that this isn't going to be a film for everyone, I do recommend it, if only for the performances by Black (his career best so far), Shirley MacLaine (mostly relying on facial expressions and body language, but still great), and Matthew McConaughey as the determined local prosecutor iffy about Bernie, refusing to believe he really is as nice as he seems.
  • LWOODS04
    November 18, 2012
    LWOODS04
    "I've read numerous of times that Bernie is a film your either going to love or hate. I happen to be in the middle. Jack Black gives out one of his best performances I have seen in a long time. I love Shirley MacLaine. She does well in this role. The story is solid. I even... read more thought bringing in the towns people to help tell the story really was smart. The only problem for me was I just wasn't very interested in the story. Still it has great performances and can be funny at times. Still not something I would watch again."
  • fb100000145236770
    November 17, 2012
    fb100000145236770
    "Bernie" is an oddball movie that gives the best performance of Jack Blacks career. This isn't his best movie, but in terms of what he's done as an actor, this is his best work. Black is usually hilarious and over the top, but here he is a little reserved, weird, and a character ... read morecompletely different than Jack Black. He plays the title character Bernie who is an assistant funeral director in a tiny Texas town. Everyone loves him, and he loves everyone else. Bernie befriends a widow(Shirley MacLaine) who everyone in the town hates, but Bernie tries to comfort her and they become best friends, and then things get bad. I don't really want to say much more because it would spoil the movie, but it's based on a true story, and it's a weird story at that. Other than Black, Matthew McConaughey plays the towns District Attorney, and he does a great job also. He is almost unrecognizable. It's amazing to see 2 very well known actors transform in the way they do. This movie isn't going to be for everyone. But, if you like quirky independent dramedies, then you should give this a shot. I think Black will get a Spirit and Golden Globe nomination for this. If he doesn't, that's a shame, because he is great.
  • flixsterman
    November 17, 2012
    flixsterman
    This is how I've always pictured Texas, outrageous and slightly effeminate.
  • blkbomb
    November 10, 2012
    blkbomb
    Townsperson: Well, Bernie was so nice, so accommodating, so willing to keep from hurting other people's feelings, he just couldn't tell anybody to piss off. 

    "A story so unbelievable it must be true."

    Bernie is much more of an absorbing movie than you could ever think possible.... read more It sounded like a weird movie. We have Richard Linklater working with Jack Black again, which is a re-teaming of School of Rock. Then there's the plot, which is based on a true story. There didn't seem to be enough here to make for a truly excellent movie, but I am really happy to say that I couldn't have been more wrong.

    Bernie is a assistant mortician in Carthage, Texas. He is also described by every townsperson, as the nicest guy you could ever meet. There's nothing he wouldn't do for any person. He was a people person, that cared about everyone more than himself. When a mean old lady loses her husband, Bernie befriends her. Soon they are taking vacations together, and Bernie has complete access to her money. Everything leads to a surprising instance where Bernie can't control himself.

    The main reason for why this film is so good, is because of the amazing performance from Jack Black. It may be his best performance of his career; up there with School of Rock and King Kong. This isn't the Jack Black you'd expect if all you've seen from him are movies like Saving Silverman, Nacho Libre, or Tenacious D. No, this is a different Jack Black. His performance is nuanced and believable. You get to believing that Black really is Bernie.

    I never expected a movie this great from all this. I had a lot of respect for both Linklater and Black, but my respect for them now has grown exponentially. Hopefully, we will be lucky enough to see yet another movie from the two working together. I highly recommend Bernie to everyone, even if you have your doubts about it. I sure did, and I couldn't have been more happy I saw it anyway.
  • itsjustme2004
    October 1, 2012
    itsjustme2004
    I guess that you could argue that the acting was good in this, and the star quality strong...but that didn't help this dismal story for me. This is NOT what I would call 'dark humor'. In fact, I didn't see any form of humor that touched my funny bone at any level...just a very bo... read morering movie. Really disappointing, because I had read that Jack Black was finally in a good movie, and so on. I disagree...
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    September 24, 2012
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    " A story so unbelievable it must be true."

    In small-town Texas, the local mortician strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow, though when he kills her, he goes to great lengths to create the illusion that she's alive.

    ... read more>REVIEW
    Jack Black is something else, a man who doesn't look like a star, an everyman, the perfect person to play "Bernie", a real-life character who must be seen to believed, a person who won the hearts of many in Carthage, Texas, made more than few contributions to his community, and for the most part had that community overlook some of his eccentricities. Eventually, Bernie finds himself indicted for a crime he confessed committing, and then the whole world goes crazy. Bernie is composed of a many real-life testimonies who help you understand who this man was. Many of the stories are unbelievable and quite amusing. You know no one could have fabricated some of those facts.

    The other part of the movie has the reenactments by a very talented cast, headed by Black and Shirley MacLaine, making a triumphant return to the top of her talents. She makes her Mrs. Nugent one of her most memorable creations. There is so much power in Ms. MacLaine's eyes, as her character is one who has managed to build quite a negative reputation in her city for being a hateful and guarded person who can't trust almost no one, until Bernie walks into her life, and she lets her guard down. Another surprise is McConaughey who plays a prosecutor who is known to be one of the few people in Carthage who doesn't trust Bernie's good nature at all. He seems to have plenty of integrity and intelligence, and when he finally gets to try Bernie there's plenty of conviction in the way he delivers his lines. "Bernie" is a small but potent dark comedy, a film that will have you laughing at the most unexpected situations, at how strange human nature can be, and it can also make you think that life is truly stranger than fiction.
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