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

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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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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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

Audience Member

Turned it off. This was horrible.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/16/25

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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