Jack Black in one of the performances of the year. I'm paraphrasing, but that is what Roger Ebert had to say about his performance in
Bernie. Now, I don't hear those words that often (from anyone for that matter) about Jack Black and frankly, I'm not a fan. I must admit, I didn't walk into
Bernie blind. I had heard these praise reviews and thought, "Well what the heck, there's nothing else playing right now that I want to see." If I had a dime for every time I've said that, I would have four dimes. I must also admit to you another thing before we continue, I'm not one of those Linklater worshippers just because he is some sort of independent filmmaker success story. No. If I may be frank here once more, I don't give a damn about your rags to riches story or what it took to make it; is your movie good? Or so completely bad that it's infamously so? That's all I really care about. But that's a discussion for another day.
For some reason, I cannot STAND it when actors shamelessly display singing/guitar playing abilities in movies or both at the same time (watch out Zooey Deschanel , I swear to god I'll find you) which is one reason why I'm not a Jack Black fan. Does he do that in this film? Yes. He sings gospel songs. But you know what, it works great because of the story, but I'll get to that later. Another thing that lifts pretty much everything I hate about Jack Black off Bernie is that Bernie Tiede is a very calm, considerate and soft spoken character. Not belligerent, over the top and screaming constantly. It almost hurts to say it, but Jack Black did a great job in this movie. He is not DDL, but he did a great job.
So another thing that lured me into the theater was that the plot was too good to pass up. It went something like this, "Bernie Tiede is a deeply religious and beloved mortician of a rural Texas town. As an upstanding member of the community, it comes as a shock to the town folk when he has been charged with murdering his "special friend" a mean and reviled widow." Oh yeah, and it's based on a true story (which is why the singing works, he sings in the church choir). After that, it's up to you on whether or not this is a comedy or a "docudrama" as I heard a very artsy and (from the sound of it, more hip than I) 50 year old woman describe it as we were leaving the theater. The "docudrama" as she put it, approach really did work for this movie and out of that came some of it's best moments. At times, it's humor is black as coal and other times it's a little more blatant, but it was also dramatic. I won't say it was deeply effecting or anything like that, but it really did throw me for a loop. I really felt torn during that movie. Now I feel that the mark of a good movie is to not leave you torn, but to stitch you back up again, which this movie does in a way your own grandmother would. For those who have seen it, you know what I'm talking about.
For nothing else, go and see Bernie for Jack Black. He outshines the movie itself which is bewildering coming from the likes of him.
