Matt Greene
Linklater has pulled off something remarkable here: he's turned a real-life tragedy into a laugh-out-loud film. A black-comedy Robin Hood, we follow the unbelievable story of a man in a small Texas town who gets mixed up with a mean recluse of an old woman...& things go awry. Black is beyond killer in this movie, bringing a hidden & deep darkness to what could be a cartoonish character. The deep delusion infesting the small town even seeps through the screen onto the audience.
mattkerr-73017
You (Weekend at Bernie's (1989)) VS the black comedy involving dead people and a mustachioed titular Bernie that they told you not to worry about.Viewed 17/06/2018
Robert D. Ruplenas
As I watched this film I became confused. It seemed to be being played as the standard comedy lampooning rednecks. However, there were moments of genuine emotion that didn't fit in a comedy. I was going to categorize it as one those movies that can't make up its mind what it wants to be until I watched the final credits and learned that it was based on a true story! It didn't take too much online research to learn that the filmmakers, apparently led by director Linklater, had completely slanted the facts of the case for the purposes of the movie. Although no one disputes the fact that Bernie shot Mrs. Nugent in the back, the movie portrays him as a saintly do-gooder who killed in a moment of justifiable weakness. The Nugent family is devastated by Maclaine's caricaturish portrayal of Mrs. Nugent. D.A. Buck, who was fulfilling his legal duties, is portrayed as an overweening publicity hound. Nugent family members are portrayed as grasping ingrates. This is the sort of distortion and outright lying that Oliver Stone does so well. I also find it astounding that the filmmakers maintained the actual names of all the characters involved in this tawdry tale. Why there weren't multiple lawsuits I don't know. Other annoying things about the movie are the standard sneering and patronizing Hollywood attitude toward Christianity and small town southern life. All the townies are rubes and Christian belief is treated as a joke. Also, no one wants to see homosexuals pilloried, but the opposite tack - lampooning those who don't approve of homosexuality - is of a piece with the movie's prejudices. I would have given the movie low marks anyway for its ambivalence, but learning of the film's mendacity makes me urge avoidance - seeing it will only encourage them.
SnoopyStyle
Bernie Tiede (Jack Black) is an effeminate beloved skilled mortician who loves to sing. He arrives in the small town of Carthage in east Texas and befriends wealthy, hated widow Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine). They become inseparable. However after a couple of years, their relationship starts to fray. Marjorie's bitterness pushes Bernie over the edge and he shoots her in the back. For months after, Bernie is able to keep Marjorie's death a secret while using her wealth. Eventually her body is found in her freezer and D.A. Danny Buck Davidson (Matthew McConaughey) charges Bernie for murder. Despite his confession, many in Carthage continue to support Bernie in the murder of the hated Marjorie.The talking heads really get tiresome after awhile. It's an interesting film technique to introduce the story. However I need more time with just Bernie and Marjorie together. It's too bad because Jack Black is so invested in the role. It could have been an Oscar winning performance for him if the movie concentrated on him and Shirley MacLaine. It could have been Foxcatcher but the talking heads keep Bernie at a distance. Instead of diving in, the audience is forced back. The limited section in the middle of watching the two act is awesome. That's the heart of the movie.
AD
