Bernie
★★★★★
This movie connects with me undoubtedly in ways that some people won't understand because I grew up in East Texas where Bernie takes place. Director Richard Linklater is a native Texan himself and he completely understands, celebrates and mocks small-town communities with this true-life crime tale. I lived and grew up with these personalities, traditions and hymns. In fact, the ode to the Hands on a Hardbody contest that is featured in this film originated in my hometown of Longview.
Even with those deep personal connections, I still herald this film as one of the funniest films to come out in the 2010s. Linklater brilliantly tells this story through a mockumentary style that blends non-actors with the celebrity and experience of Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey and Shirley MacLaine. The whole arc of this story seems unbelievable, but that’s what has always been so compelling about true crime. With this story, it’s not so much the crime that is unbelievable, it’s the characters. And that’s why I always thought that Black as the charismatic mortician/music minister/stage director/fill-in-the-blank should be recognized more for this performance. Bernie is a one-of-kind character and the way that this community lifts him up during times of peril is hilarious and infectious.
Bernie is an ambitious comedy that I’ve always championed and it’s hard for me to imagine someone not delectably laughing at this film.
