Millennium Entertainment
104 min., dir. by Richard Linklater, with Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey

Everything is bigger in Texas — and that goes for their awkward stories as well. A truly larger-than-life scenario of small town politics caught up in a big world scandal, Bernie is the new film that finds Richard Linklater once again teaming up with Jack Black. Wacky and charming, yet oddly sentimental, Bernie is a wonderful mix of hilarity and crime.

Bernie Tiede (Black) is as perfect as they come, according to the residents of Carthage, Texas. He’s sweet and loving, goes out of his way to do well for others, and boy, can he sing. Bernie came to the town of Carthage to fill the role of the town’s mortician. The delicate grace he shows to the living, he passes on to the dead. As time goes by, Bernie befriends Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), the town’s most spiteful, unlikeable woman. Nugent is widowed — and wealthy — and Bernie feels she just needs a friend.

The two become inseparable companions, taking overseas trips together, and doing everything together as if they were a couple. In time, Marjorie fires everyone that works for her (except her stockbroker) and has Bernie waiting on her, hand and foot. Helping Marjorie becomes Bernie’s job. Being the sweet, caring man he is, Bernie can’t bring himself to ever complain to Marjorie until one day, he can’t handle it anymore.

The people and events that this film are based on are all very real — still, it may be best not know the events before you go into the theater. It’s obvious to a point what happens, but let yourself try and forget before you sit down.

The film’s story is told through the eyes of gossipy townspeople. A hefty amount of the dialogue is taken from actual quotes from the 1998 Texas Monthly magazine article by Skip Hollandsworth that drew Linklater to the project — a number of the townspeople appear in the film as well. Both a storytelling device and a thematic anchor, Bernie is more about the swirl of opinions of those on the outside than about Bernie and Marjorie themselves.

Well all know there are two sides to every person. Every character in this film is another puzzle piece to a town of dualistic standards. The events that take place are as unbelievable to each character as each character’s part in the story is unbelievable to the viewer. To many, Bernie is incapable of any wrongdoing.

When you see a news story about the nice, quiet neighbor who commits a horrendous crime, you always hear, “Oh, he was a nice man, always said hello. I would never think he was capable of this.” That person quoted in the news story may have felt that way about the criminal, but they still know he committed the crime.  Not the community of Carthage, Texas — they would lay their life on their line for lovable Bernie Tiede. It’s truly fascinating, and if you think it’s all Hollywood fluff, after you see the film, read this this article by Marjorie’s nephew.

From the townspeople, to Danny Buck (Matthew McConaughey), to Marjorie Nugent, Bernie provides one long string of over-the-top hilarity to match the outrageous circumstance of the story. Jack Black, however, rides a line of understated power that allows him to play the role with nothing grounding him, while keeping the performance real. Though Bernie is about more than just the man, it’s Black’s performance as the titular character that makes the movie special. Once you see everything taking place and then look at the way it really happened, there’s no way anyone other than Black was right for this role.

Bernie is a rare film that treats its audience to a sophisticated level of storytelling, while disguising itself as a playful romp through a dark tunnel. Linklater allows you to enjoy yourself and relax, as he infects your brain with a twisted tale of he said/ she said that will spark a conversation between the whole theater once the lights come up.

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Matthew Schuchman is the founder and film critic of Movie Reviews From Gene Shalit’s Moustache and also the contributing film writer for IPaintMyMind.