By Robert Scucci
| Published
Jack Black may be best known for his portrayal of Dewey Finn in Richard Linklater’s School of Rock, but the latter’s Bernie may very well feature the best performance of Black’s career. Channeling energy that’s equal parts sincere, flamboyant, calculating, sentimental, and intense, Black’s fictionalized version of Bernie Tiede, the real-life 39-year-old mortician who murdered his 81-year-old companion, Marjorie “Margie” Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), has been praised for realistically portraying the true events by the victim’s actual nephew, which was quickly shut down by her only son, Rod Nugent, who is unwilling to believe that his cousin would sing such positive notes about a black comedy involving the tragic death of his mother.
While I’m not an expert in the actual happenings and court proceedings depicted in Bernie, I can tell you with 100 percent confidence that it’s one of the funniest tragedies you can set your eyes to if you’re looking to laugh at what in essence is a story about a really nice guy doing a horrible thing and nearly getting away with it.
Working as a mortician in the small town of Carthage, Texas, Bernie is one of those guys that you love to love. Singing like a canary during funeral ceremonies, and offering a shoulder to cry on for any widow who’s willing to take him up on his offers of comfort, there’s not a single person who doesn’t like Bernie, thanks to his generosity, kindness, affable nature, and charisma. Living a simple life, and having a penchant for musicals, Bernie, radiates warmth and establishes a reputation as one of the most generous people living in Carthage, and the townsfolk, though various documentary-style confessionals, admit that they’re hypnotized by his charm.
Bernie’s life changes significantly when he befriends recently widowed Marjorie Nugent, an exceedingly wealthy woman who’s vast fortune comes from the oil trade and banking. Hated by every single person living in Carthage, there’s no shortage of townsfolk willing to talk about just how terrible of a human being she actually is, setting up the dynamic that’s depicted throughout the rest of the film.
Enjoying the high life by traveling to exotic locations and having extravagant lunches with Marjorie, Bernie becomes close with the widow, who slowly sinks her teeth in and rules his life with an iron fist. Known for being emotionally abusive, we bear witness to a soft-hearted, good natured, Bernie getting pushed to his breaking point, culminating in him shooting Marjorie in the back four times, hiding her corpse in the garage chest freezer, and moving on with his life as if he just didn’t murder an old woman.
Not A Jury In The World
Having been written into Marjorie’s will as her sole benefactor and financial manager, Bernie has all of the deceased widow’s resources at his disposal, which he mostly uses to help the community of Carthage through various charities and generous gifts that can only be given when money is no object. Growing suspicious and uneasy over the fact that nobody has seen Marjorie in months, district attorney Danny Buck Davidson (Matthew McConaughey), as well Marjorie’s stockbroker, Lloyd Hornbuckle (Richard Robichaux), have reason to believe that Bernie is responsible for her disappearance, and isn’t the wholesome dude that everybody thinks he is.
Living a double life, Bernie constantly toes the line between magnanimous music man and cold-blooded killer, with most of the community showing zero concern over the whereabouts of Marjorie Nugent, whom they all hated intensely, and for reasons that they have no qualms divulging during their many, matter-of-factly hilarious testimonials.
Jack Black Steals The Show
I’ll be the first person to tell you that I love Jack Black but can only take his shtick in small doses. As much as I love Tenacious D, and his willingness to be as over-the-top as humanly possible in most of his movies, it gets old after a while. In Bernie, however, he’s still distinctly Jack Black, but with a twist because of how complex of a character Bernie Tiede actually is according to the fiction that the film establishes. Whether or not Bernie is 100 percent truthful in its recollection of real-life events, what we see on screen is a man who only wants to give, cares deeply about his community, and is pushed to the point of no return when somebody takes advantage of his kindness to the point of controlling every facet of his day-to-day life, causing him to reach his breaking point.
Never losing his identity as one of the most bombastic A-listers that Hollywood has to offer, Jack Black reels it in and never seems obnoxious because his depiction of Bernie Tiede is coming from a genuine place.
Always a goofball, even when he’s playing it straight, Jack Black is a force of nature in Bernie, which you can currently stream for free on Tubi.
