Bernie

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2:02

Bernie

PG-13

Released Apr 27, 2012

1h 44m

Comedy

Crime

Drama

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Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

169 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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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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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

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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

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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

Audience Member

Turned it off. This was horrible.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/16/25

Full Review

Tim C

I found the premise of this movie offensive. The cajones, to suggest that "Bernie" was anything other than a cold-blooded butcher; by some stretch of the imagination this might have been possible, until it is realized that over time, the real Bernie ripped his victim off to the tune of almost four million dollars prior to pumping four bullets into her. It has been suggested by Bernie's "friends" that he suffered from some kind of spontaneous mental illness, causing his behavior. That he simply "lost it," because his victim was such an unpleasant person. And why is this not plausible? Because if mental illness was the primary cause, he wasn't exhibiting it while targeting and then charming and then ripping off the old woman that he butchered. She obviously determined he was stealing her assets, and then confronted him, with lethal results. This garbage should have been boycotted. It is applauded primarily by the same Hollywood garbage that gave Roman Polanski a standing ovation.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/16/24

Full Review

jose l

Boring mockumentary-like storytelling that lacks the deepness of a true-crime story. Its script and editing clearly doesn’t understands comedic timing. It fails and a drama and as a comedy.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/29/24

Full Review

Dave C

An unexpectedly gentle and comical true crime drama, with a superbly written and directed style. The documentary feel, including interviews, is the perfect way to tell this story without loading judgement on the subject or the community who rallied behind him. JB is outstanding by the way

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/26/24

Full Review

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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

Bernie: Official Clip - The Cover Up

2:09

Bernie: Official Clip - What Have I Done?

2:11

Bernie: Official Clip - Ready for the Casket

2:03

Bernie: Official Clip - Mean Marjorie

2:05

Bernie: Official Clip - I Know You Hate Me

2:12

Bernie: Official Clip - Most Qualified Young Man

2:11

Bernie: Official Clip - The Freezer

2:09

Bernie: Official Clip - Was it Romantic?

2:13

Bernie: Official Clip - The Five States of Texas

1:13

Bernie: Official Clip - Increasingly Dependent

2:13

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Bernie: Trailer 1

2:02

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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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