Review of Bernie (2012) by Melvin W — 10 Nov 2012

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. 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.