Flash Review: Bernie
A dark comedy that’s not that dark or very funny, Bernie still works thanks to a very talented cast. Starting with the numerous bit parts by actors playing the people of Carthage, Texas, which give the film a nice “mockumentary” vibe, down to Shirley MacLaine as a bitter old hag and Jack Black’s best performance yet, a nuanced, restrained turn (not a flawless one; the man can’t cry convincingly, which has always been a qualm of mine when it comes to actors). For me, the highlight was Matthew McConaughey. 2012 was probably the best year in his career, with other outstanding turns in Killer Joe and Magic Mike (supposedly; haven’t seen that one).
I agree, I thought Jack Black was pretty amazing in this.
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Thanks! Yes, he definitely was. Very different from his usual roles, too.
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I have this on my netflix queue but haven’t gotten around to watching it just yet; i guess b/c it doesn’t appeal to me as much as other titles do. No way Jack Black is better in this than Shallow Hal, though. He was immaculate in that role! One of my top favorite comedies! 🙂 “I’M WITH HER, AND YOU’RE NOT! REMEMBER THAT! I’M WITH HER!” lol.
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I actually haven’t seen that in many, many years. Probably since it came out so don’t really remember how Jack did. But yes, he’s fantastic in Bernie. His performance there and in The Holiday are my favorites.
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A dark comedy that’s not that dark or very funny… yet you still like this movie? 🙂 Just kidding. I don’t know why but I’m not all that interested in seeing this, I might give it a shot at some point though.
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LOL. Yeah, it wasn’t as dark or as funny as it should’ve been but I still enjoyed it, and the acting was pretty good. If you check it out eventually, let me know what you think.
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Nice review man, glad you liked it. I thought it was pretty dark though. SPOILER ALERT it’s about a dude who murders a widow who he has befriended, chucks her in the freezer then gets on with spending her money for the next year.
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LOL. I know. What I meant is that considering the grisly themes, the tone felt predominantly light.
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Come on it was only nine months and he wasn’t spending it on himself he was like Robin Hood 😉
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LOL
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Haha true that.
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I actually just watched this for the first time last night. I was mesmerized by Jack Black’s performance. Sure the film is quirky and weird but I still had a really good time watching it. When I die I hope I have a funeral director as awesome as Bernie.
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He would be great to have at one’s funeral. Really liked Black in the role.
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You know what I was surprised by his physicality in that role. Especially the dancing.
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I also liked that he sang quite a bit for the role. I like his voice.
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that is 100% true as well
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Very enjoyable film which I didn’t plan on seeing but couldn’t ignore after the glowing reviews…
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Same here. I wasn’t even aware of it until the reviews started coming in.
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“A dark comedy that’s not that dark or very funny, Bernie still works thanks to a very talented cast.”
Not dark? It’s about a preacher who’s shamed by his town after he impulsively kills an elderly woman…I’m not sure how that’s not dark. I guess I can see how you didn’t think it was very funny, though. As long as we can all agree Jack Black was great….
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Haha, what I meant is that the tone was mostly light, considering the subject matter (which really is pretty dark). And yeah, Jack Black was great.
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