Well, at least I know everything in the movie Bernie is real. When writer/director Richard Linklater read the true story about a funeral director in a tiny East Texas town who committed a crazy crime, he immediately went to that town and checked it out. What he created was a brilliant mixture of documentary meets Fargo. Real townspeople are interviewed about what happened, filling us in with their Texas charm and filthy mouths, and they even get to do their fair share of acting – and really well, too – opposite Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey and Shirley McClaine, who recreate the main characters of the story.
This is the best and most difficult role Jack Black has ever played: a pious, asexual southern gent who makes little old ladies swoon. He belts out a bunch of religious hymns throughout the film (keep in mind, Jack was raised Jewish) in the funeral home, the church, even while driving his big Ford LTD. You’ll quickly forget the over-the-top comedy/voiceover Jack Black.
Bernie is great. But if you don’t trust my opinion, a) screw you, and b) it got a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, so for eff’s sake, see it.
