Bernie

As I 've mentioned before, I love comedies. So when I read about this small, independent comedy simply called "Bernie", I became intrigued. It had not only an interesting premise, but a killer cast to boot. Of course, as with any comedy, it's all about the writing.

In the small, rural town of Carthage, TX, assistant funeral director Bernie Tiede (Jack Black) was one of the town's most beloved residents. He taught Sunday school, sang in the church choir and was always willing to lend a helping hand. Everyone loved and appreciated Bernie, so it came as no surprise when he befriended Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), an affluent widow who was as well known for her nasty attitude and personality as well as her fortune. Bernie and Marjorie became fast friends frequently traveling and Bernie even managed her banking affairs much to the chagrin of her accountant, Lloyd Hornbuckle (Richard Robichaux) who was basically jealous of Bernie. After a point, Marjorie became dependent on Bernie and his generosity and Bernie struggled with her increasing demands a lot of which were in the form of tirades.
As months and months went by, Bernie was still handling Marjories affairs with constant questions from the townspeople about where Marjorie was. After a point, the townspeople of Carthage were shocked when it was reported that Marjorie Nugent had been dead for quite some time, and that Bernie Tiede was being charged with the murder by Sheriff Huckabee (Brandon Smith) and Danny Buck (Matthew McConaughey), the town's DA.

Others to round out the cast are Brady Coleman as Scrappy Holmes, Bernie's attorney, Rick Dial as Don Leggett, the town's funeral director and Bernie's boss, Larry Jack Dotson as Rev. Woodard, Merrille McCommas as Molly, Marjorie's granddaughter, Mathew Greer as Carl, Bernie and Marjorie's groundskeeper, and Richard Jones as Professor Fleming.

The pacing in this was well delineated by director Richard Linklater ("Dazed and Confused" '93, "Before Sunrise" '95, "SubUrbia" '96, "Waking Life" '01, "Tape" '01, "The School of Rock" '03, "Before Sunset" '04, "Bad News Bears" '05, "Fast Food Nation" '06, "A Scanner Darkly" '06, "Me and Orson Wells" '08). It was written by Skip Hollandsworth and Richard Linklater which was based on a Texas article by Hollandsworth. Prior, when I mentioned  about, it's all about the writing? well, this was well written. The comedy wasn't a physical comedy. It was a subtle, but 'dark' comedy well executed by Hollandsworth and Linklater. So considering one of the writers of the film also wrote the article the film was based on, it's no wonder the writing would be effective.

Being an indie film, it took a while for the film to make wide release. It was originally released on 6-11-11 (LA Film Festival). finally the film reached wide release status by this May 4th. The film was definitely worth the wait. The film was funny, quirky, bizarre, dark, with great performances, especially Jack Black, and great writing all rolled up into one. It will have you loving and cheering for Bernie as his world gets turned upside down.

Out of 4 stars: 4                     Rated: PG-13                        104min.