Bernie

2011 comedy based on a true story

Rating: 16/20

Plot: A small-town funeral director strikes up a friendship with a rich old lady who later turns up dead.

This has a much different tone than not only every other Jack Black movie you'll ever see but most other movies. It doesn't feel like a comedy most of the time though there are a lot of very funny moments. It's not a mockumentary even though Richard Linklater utilizes interview snippets with actual locals throughout the thing which kind of give it that feel. At least I think they're actual locals. There's absolutely no mystery, so it's not a murder-mystery, and although some of this takes place in a courtroom and Matthew McConaughey does a wonderful job of playing a lawyer, going against type and actually keeping his shirt on for the duration of the story, it's not a courtroom drama either. I'll call it a black comedy. Jack Black's performance is subdued, but he does do that thing with his eyebrows early in the movie to remind you that he's Jack Black. But he's perfect for this role--he's got the facial expressions, the voice, the singing ability, and these perfect little movements. In an opening scene, he plays around with what I thought might be a real corpse. I'm too lazy to look that up just like I'm too lazy to check to see if the "locals" were authentic or not. This is, after all, rapid fire! Shirley MacClaine is also really good here. All you need to watch is a scene where she chews refried beans to appreciate her genius. Bernie's got a fascinating story, and I liked its simple style. The murder scene, by the way, is perfection--the editing, the writing, the acting, and then bam--76 Trombones. Brilliant stuff.