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Bernie

Play trailer 2:02 Poster for Bernie PG-13 2012 1h 44m Comedy Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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88% Tomatometer 168 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Assistant funeral director Bernie Tiede (Jack Black) is one of the most-beloved residents in the small Texas town of Carthage. Sunday-school teacher, choir member and creator of spectacular funerals, Bernie is a friend to everyone, including Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), a rich but nasty widow whom no one else likes. When Marjorie is found shot to death and stuffed in a freezer, Bernie is charged with the murder, and concerned Carthage citizens immediately spring to his defense.
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Bernie

Bernie

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Critics Consensus

Richard Linklater's Bernie is a gently told and unexpectedly amusing true-crime comedy that benefits from an impressive performance by Jack Black.

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Critics Reviews

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J. Hoberman ARTINFO.com Bernie lacks the edge of malice one might reasonably expect from so nasty a tale. Feb 22, 2019 Full Review Anna Smith metro.co.uk [Jack] Black is hilarious, all towering tolerance that finally reaches boiling point. Rated: 4/5 Sep 5, 2017 Full Review Kent Jones Film Comment Magazine But the troubling question at the heart of this liberating, sunlit, deceptively simple but extremely complex and fairly formidable film is: should the law or the community itself decide the fate of its citizens? Nov 5, 2013 Full Review Michael Leader Den of Geek Bernie sits squarely in the middle of Linklater’s indie-mainstream spectrum – an experiment in marrying drama and documentary, which inevitably satisfies neither. May 8, 2024 Full Review Emiliano Basile EscribiendoCine [Linklater] tenderly embellishes the entire situation by subtly expressing the dichotomy between the law and real life. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 8/10 Jan 2, 2024 Full Review James Croot The Post NZ While some may bridle at a serious event being treated in a glib fashion for comic effect, Linklater never openly ridicules the situation or his subjects – and serial-mugger Black is remarkably restrained. Rated: 4.5/5 Apr 21, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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HotRod D I don’t understand the negative reviews of this movie? I picked up this DVD at a dollar store of all places. Jack Black is always entertaining. And Shirley MacLaine is pure gold. Even though the true story wasn’t pleasant. The way the film portrayed it was ok. This was a very good movie in my opinion. It’s worth watching if you like good movies Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/16/25 Full Review marvin n Just not feeling it 🫥 Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/05/25 Full Review Audience Member Well, the story is true- but it's not very good. All performances were as good as you'd expect from the people performing them. I just found the subject matter- weird, in a kind of boring way. I didn't hate it and I'm glad I watched it- but I just don't think I can keep this in my collection and if I did it would only be b/c of Matt and Jack- and I like a lot of Linklater's stuff, just not this. One of the very few movies that's well made in everyway but suffers simply from a person I'm not interested in. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/25/25 Full Review thiago s Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/05/25 Full Review Avalon T What a great movie. Jack Black is excellent as Bernie and from all I've read about him in reality portrays the real Bernie perfectly. Who can't love a movie with Shirley McClaine and Matthew McConahey- such great acting from both of them? Funny and entertaining I'd watch this a second time. The short interviews with the "real people " are interesting and certainly contribute to the enjoyment of this very original movie. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/22/25 Full Review J T Like the other reviews have said, totally unexpected! Within 10 minutes I was hooked, and the celebrity recreations mixed with real interviews was not distracting as I imaged it would be. Great couples movie! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/20/25 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Richard Linklater

Director

Jack Black

Bernie Tiede

Shirley MacLaine

Marjorie Nugent

Matthew McConaughey

Danny Buck

Brady Coleman

Scrappy Holmes

Richard Robichaux

Lloyd Hornbuckler

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Bernie

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Bernie

Bernie: Trailer 1 Bernie: Trailer 1 2:02 View more videos
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Bernie

A scene from "Bernie." Jack Black as Bernie in "Bernie." Shirley MacLaine as Marjorie Nugent and Jack Black as Bernie in "Bernie." Jack Black (left) as Bernie in "Bernie." Shirley MacLaine as Marjorie Nugent and Jack Black as Bernie in "Bernie." Jack Black as Bernie in "Bernie." A scene from "Bernie." (L-R) Brady Coleman as Scrappy Holmes and Jack Black as Bernie in "Bernie." Jack Black as Bernie and Shirley MacLaine as Marjorie Nugent in "Bernie." Jack Black as Bernie in "Bernie." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Assistant funeral director Bernie Tiede (Jack Black) is one of the most-beloved residents in the small Texas town of Carthage. Sunday-school teacher, choir member and creator of spectacular funerals, Bernie is a friend to everyone, including Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), a rich but nasty widow whom no one else likes. When Marjorie is found shot to death and stuffed in a freezer, Bernie is charged with the murder, and concerned Carthage citizens immediately spring to his defense.
Director
Richard Linklater
Producer
Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Liz Glotzer, Matt Williams, David McFadzean, Judd Payne, Dete Meserve, Ginger Sledge, Richard Linklater
Screenwriter
Richard Linklater, Skip Hollandsworth
Distributor
Millennium Entertainment
Production Co
Detour Filmproduction, Wind Dancer Films, Mandalay Vision
Rating
PG-13 (Some Violent Images|Brief Strong Language)
Genre
Comedy, Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 27, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$9.2M
Runtime
1h 44m
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