Sunday, November 29, 2015

Movie: Bernie (2011)

Both parental units said Bernie was good, so the day after Thanksgiving we all plopped our overstuff butts on the couch and they pulled it up On Demand (They have cable!).

Bernie, stars Jack Black as Bernard Tiede, an assistant funeral director and eventually, close friend of the meanest lady in a small Texas town. He ends up killing the mean lady and spending a lot of her money doing good deeds and helping out townsfolk. Of course he gets caught and then there's a trial. This movie is based on a true story. You should read about it.

The movie was great and had a semi-documentary style, with interviews of townspeople and local politicians spliced with flashbacks into the story. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to take Jack Black seriously, but even though some of his scenes were drama-light and on the precipice of comical, he never took it over that edge and I credit Black's skill as well as the director for creating the light and happy feeling that didn't stumble into full-frontal humor or darkness. FYI: Jack Black can really sing, man! 

After last year's heart-wrenchingly awful movie Boyhood, I was surprised to learn Bernie was directed by the Texas-loving, Richard Linklater, who also did one of my favorites, Dazed and Confused. Bernie also stars Matthew McConaughey as the district attorney who prosecutes Bernie and Shirley MacLaine as the mean lady.


I thought Bernie was highly entertaining, well done, and I wouldn't mind watching it again, so I give it three stars ***.  

Here's some fun from the movie:


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