Bernie
Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 35
  3. Negative: 1 out of 35
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  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    May 17, 2012
    100
    You should have the opportunity to experience the movie the way I did, in complete ignorance, enjoying its every weird turn.
  2. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Joshua Rothkopf
    Apr 24, 2012
    100
    Matthew McConaughey finally locates his perfect métier as the town's Fordian skeptic, a district attorney who smells a rat.
  3. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    May 17, 2012
    91
    Slight but terrific. The intertwining of the sharply tuned actors and the guileless (and often hilarious) townspeople is seamless, the tale is sometimes despairing but never heavy, and the blend of drama, comedy and music is brisk and fresh.
  4. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    Apr 27, 2012
    91
    The innocence of the townspeople is weirdly uplifting. They love their Bernie so much that they seem even more blinkered than he is.
  5. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    Apr 26, 2012
    90
    Gaudily vibrant, at times morbidly funny.
  6. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Betsy Sharkey
    Apr 26, 2012
    90
    This is writer-director Richard Linklater at his wry, whimsical best, and considering he was the filmmaker behind 1993's "Dazed and Confused," that makes the movie something of a milestone.
  7. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Calvin Wilson
    May 18, 2012
    88
    Bernie could easily have gone horribly wrong. But Black and Linklater finesse this tricky material with as much virtuosity as Bernie brings to that broccoli.
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    May 17, 2012
    88
    Weirdly funny, inspiring film.
  9. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    May 2, 2012
    88
    I had to forget what I knew about Black. He creates this character out of thin air, it's like nothing he's done before, and it proves that an actor can be a miraculous thing in the right role.
  10. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    Apr 27, 2012
    88
    Jack Black gives the performance of his career in the title role of Bernie, under the pitch-perfect direction of his "School of Rock'' director, Richard Linklater, who expertly crafts a black comedy with a deceptively sunny surface. It's the best movie I've seen all spring.
  11. New York Observer
    Reviewed by: Rex Reed
    Apr 25, 2012
    88
    It's a delectable slice of Southern Gothic humor, a side show of rednecks and Bubbas and Aunt Tooties.
  12. NPR
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    Apr 27, 2012
    85
    The wonder of Black's performance here is its empathy and balance: inasmuch as he can disappear into any role, he dissolves into this one with no hint of mocking remove. It's a beautiful thing to see.
  13. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    Apr 25, 2012
    83
    Though the lightness of Bernie can get disconcerting at times, even cartoonish, Linklater approaches the story with a bemused curiosity that seems about right under the circumstances.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 70 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 28
  3. Negative: 3 out of 28
  1. Bigboii32
    1
    This is the worst and most boring movie I have ever seen. I would rather eat curry and watch desperate housewives for eight hours then sit through jack blacks worst movie he's ever created. No comedy at all and it sukz ballz!!!!!!!!!!! bALLZ!!… Full Review »
  2. EFYevan
    10
    Fantastic movie - I highly recommend you see this movie. Jack Black is a great actor - he plays the true story of Bernie perfectly! He is a wonderful singer, and he sings throughout the movie. I am really glad I went to see this movie.… Full Review »
  3. FDT44
    7
    Director/writer Richard Linklater ("Slacker," and "Dazed and Confused") just has a knack for making "funny" out of sheer quirkiness; "Bernie" is no exception. However, such an amalgam, in this instance, wears a conspicuous switchblade on the sleeve of its seemingly unimpeachable, happy-go-lucky, awe-shucks suit--comely yet fey--which makes the audience's support of its protagonist, notwithstanding the solemnly predetermined circumstances and resolution, all the more substantial; one can't help but feel his internal struggle to restrain himself from the impending provocation, and revert to a suit unsheathed from trepidation and worry. Hence, "Bernie" is as much a "based-on-a-true-crime-story" as it is an emotional exercise in one coming to grips with the life they "needed" to have, but weren't "ready" to try. As for the movie itself, a plot too unconventional to be anything other than...well...true, it is about real-life character and mortician, Bernie Tiede, (Jack Black) who moves to the small cornpone town of Cathage in East Texas, where he immediately becomes the figure of social graces, exuding an ironic level of comfort from residents dealing with the loss of a loved one; the town knows Bernie will be there to commiserate with, and more notoriously, a solid deal on their deceased one' s terrestrial humble abode. Needless to say, Bernie is a town favorite--respected, idolized, and considered valuable to the communal whole. Though, Bernie is something of a bachelor as well. With his high social status, and flintlike sense of self-worth from being of consequential usefulness by endless scores of people, Bernie decides it's time to enter into a relationship that is more quid pro quo--but is he ever wrong. He begins meeting/dating Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), a sour-mouthed widow of cold embraces, who also happens to be the town's most affluent member. After runs of extravagance vacationing, and copious amounts of arguing, the film follows with Bernie on trial. It is from this point, that the offbeat, dark dramedy really picks up, as Linklater's atypical movie becomes even more peculiar, albeit rewarding, assuming the form of a semi-mockumentary that includes interviews from actual local witnesses with a loose script who know the couple, as well as professional actors who "claimed" they knew the couple. Either way, it is know one else but the mere townspeople that are the most fascinating,--outright, vivid, profane, hilarious, and insightful--connecting audiences with a sense of realism that is as effective and contributing to the film's plot, as astonishing it is just to take in. So, is Jack Black not good as Bernie Tiede? Absolutely, he is. Black modulates the most careful restraint he has ever produced in a film thus far. Everything from his 1990's visage--comb-over and stache and his expandable gold watch--to his persnickety stride and fluttery hands, is greatly enjoyable to observe. However, after a while, though not readily, Black's adroitness shifts to self-enchantment, though he does look as if he is having a great time on-screen. Similarly, McConaughey, playing the town's district attorney, Danny Buck, flirts with his character's limits a bit too far, which looks like a constant tomfoolery of self-parody; while charmful and expectedly charismatic, his portrayal of Danny Buck can't be taken seriously. As for MacLaine's Marjorie, she does a commendable job, as she plays the nefariously querulous widow primly, although her character is considerably less enjoyable to side with; merciless and unfunny. But, one can't discredit her work because of who she plays; her various nuances make for an oxymoronic quality that is delightful to watch (her acting job) and equally vexatious to endure. Ultimately, "Bernie" hits its highest marks when its inner-story is digressed to ephemerally comedic, straight-to-the-camera remarks made by the townsfolk, that help give the audience an internal "say" in who was actually right and who was wrong. Further, while the townsfolk, particularly the real ones, do show bias in their "opinions' regarding the matter, their comments help steer audiences in the right direction to deduce the situation's happenings. Although everyone seems to have an opinion, one of the film's underlying issues is that its director/writer, Linklater, too, doesn't know, and Black's Bernie is just as clueless. That is, the townsfolk are the only sources of knowing...at all; this then, adds to the degree and weight of their words. What emanates in "Bernie," is an almost elegiac meditation, with some atypical laughs, of an underrated hero who just happened to meet the wrong person and the wrong place, without him every knowing such could ever happen. Black's Bernie, is a slowly-winding arrow that surges ahead much farther than aimed.… Full Review »
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