"We can not have grief tragically become a comedy". Those are the words of small town mortician, Bernie Tiede(Jack Black), a man who in 1996 confessed to the murder of 81-year old Marjorie Nugent by shooting her in the back with a rifle. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened in the sleepy town of Carthage, Texas, as depicted in Richard Linklater's brilliant, irresistible comedy, Bernie.
The unbelievable turn of events is based on a Texas Monthly article by co-writer Skip Hollingsworth, about how the people of Carthage turned a blind eye to the murder because...well, Bernie was just such a nice guy. Bernie was a joyful cherub of a man with a friendly mustache and an eternally sunny disposition. He ran the local funeral home, sang in the church choir, and always had a nice thing to say, especially to the local widows when their husbands had just passed away. Bernie was an irresistible flirt with the older women, and some would call him a gold-digger. Well, nobody in Carthage would, anyway. Their homespun wisdom begins and ends with the idea that Bernie Tiede was something of a saint.
On the other hand, Majorie Nugent was a mean old coot who never had a good thing to say about anybody. Soured by an ongoing financial dispute with her family, Marjorie was a rich, widowed recluse that everybody hated. All except Bernie, who is the only one to show her any affection at all, which she mightily rejects initially. Soon, she starts to warm up to him and the two become inseparable colleagues and lovers, although rumors of Bernie being gay persisted, whispered in hush tones by the townsfolk. It doesn't take long before the possessive Marjorie starts to smother Bernie, until he can't take it anymore and the rest is bloody history.
The story is so incredible that it would make for a fitting entry into 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not'. Even as Bernie is caught with Marjorie's body stuck in a freezer, the town goes on as if nothing bad truly happened. They continue to defend him, to the slack jawed chagrin of town prosecutor, Danny Buck(Matthew McConaughey), who can hardly believe his ears when staunch defenses such as "Bernie only shot her four times. He could've shot her five." are hurled his way. They just don't care that Bernie kept her body on ice for nearly a year. The guy led the community musicals every year for pete's sake, doesn't that count for something?The delightfully offbeat story is supported by a number of fantastic performance, especially by Black, in a role that requires him to rein in his off-the-wall persona. His Bernie is a complex character, desperate and well-meaning, but also a little bit dark around the edges. There's something not quite right about him, but it's hard to tell whether he's just too perfect or a shady car salesman in disguise. Or both. Linklater always seems to pull the best performances out of Black, just as he did with School of Rock. The scene stealers are the real life townspeople who provide much of the most insightful commentary and the best gags, as they sit around spreading their gossip about this, that, and the other. They feel genuine because they are, and Linklater puts the spotlight on them for a reason. It's mainly due to them that Bernie is the best movie about small town America we've seen in years. He doesn't make fun of these simple folk, but embraces and adores their life and culture, even if some of what they do doesn't always make a lot of sense.
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