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IMDbPro

Bernie

  • 2011
  • PG-13
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
62K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,956
105
Matthew McConaughey, Shirley MacLaine, and Jack Black in Bernie (2011)
In small-town Texas, the friendship between the well-liked local mortician and a a reviled wealthy widow becomes the focus of much debate and scandal once she turns up dead.
Play trailer2:09
16 Videos
99+ Photos
BiographyComedyCrime

In small-town Texas, an affable mortician strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow, though when she starts to become controlling, he goes to great lengths to separate himself from her gr... Read allIn small-town Texas, an affable mortician strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow, though when she starts to become controlling, he goes to great lengths to separate himself from her grasp.In small-town Texas, an affable mortician strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow, though when she starts to become controlling, he goes to great lengths to separate himself from her grasp.

  • Director
    • Richard Linklater
  • Writers
    • Skip Hollandsworth
    • Richard Linklater
  • Stars
    • Jack Black
    • Shirley MacLaine
    • Matthew McConaughey
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    62K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    4,956
    105
    • Director
      • Richard Linklater
    • Writers
      • Skip Hollandsworth
      • Richard Linklater
    • Stars
      • Jack Black
      • Shirley MacLaine
      • Matthew McConaughey
    • 177User reviews
    • 232Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 10 wins & 19 nominations

    Videos16

    U.S. Version
    Trailer 2:09
    Watch U.S. Version
    Bernie
    Clip 1:05
    Watch Bernie
    Bernie
    Clip 0:43
    Watch Bernie
    Bernie: She Had Bernie (Spanish Subtitled)
    Clip 1:33
    Watch Bernie: She Had Bernie (Spanish Subtitled)
    Bernie: Bernie Did It (Spanish Subtitled)
    Clip 1:20
    Watch Bernie: Bernie Did It (Spanish Subtitled)
    Bernie: Clip 15
    Clip 0:22
    Watch Bernie: Clip 15
    Bernie: Clip 13
    Clip 0:45
    Watch Bernie: Clip 13
    Bernie: Sonny Explains Texas
    Clip 1:11
    Watch Bernie: Sonny Explains Texas
    Bernie: Clip 3
    Clip 0:24
    Watch Bernie: Clip 3
    Bernie: Clip 11
    Clip 0:36
    Watch Bernie: Clip 11
    Bernie: Marjorie Freaks Out
    Clip 1:07
    Watch Bernie: Marjorie Freaks Out
    Bernie: Townspeople Speculating
    Clip 0:40
    Watch Bernie: Townspeople Speculating

    Photos134

    Matthew McConaughey in Bernie (2011)
    Jack Black in Bernie (2011)
    Shirley MacLaine in Bernie (2011)
    Jack Black in Bernie (2011)
    Richard Linklater in Bernie (2011)
    Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black in Bernie (2011)
    Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black in Bernie (2011)
    Shirley MacLaine in Bernie (2011)
    Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black in Bernie (2011)
    Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black in Bernie (2011)
    Jack Black in Bernie (2011)
    Jack Black in Bernie (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jack Black
    Jack Black
    • Bernie Tiede
    Shirley MacLaine
    Shirley MacLaine
    • Marjorie Nugent
    Matthew McConaughey
    Matthew McConaughey
    • Danny Buck
    Brady Coleman
    • Scrappy Holmes
    Richard Robichaux
    Richard Robichaux
    • Lloyd Hornbuckle
    Rick Dial
    • Don Leggett
    Brandon Smith
    Brandon Smith
    • Sheriff Huckabee
    Larry Jack Dotson
    Larry Jack Dotson
    • Rev. Woodard
    Merrilee McCommas
    • Molly
    Mathew Greer
    • Carl
    • (as Matthew Greer)
    Marjorie Dome
    • Townsperson
    Tim Cariker
    • Townsperson
    Fern Luker
    • Townsperson
    Jack Payne
    • Townsperson
    Sonny Carl Davis
    Sonny Carl Davis
    • Townsperson
    • (as Sonny Davis)
    Chris Humphrey
    Chris Humphrey
    • Townsperson
    Ann Reeves
    • Townsperson
    Kay Epperson
    • Townsperson
    • Director
      • Richard Linklater
    • Writers
      • Skip Hollandsworth
      • Richard Linklater
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Real residents of Carthage, Texas who knew the real Bernie Tiede and Marjorie Nugent appear in the film providing commentary on the events.
    • Goofs
      Bernie committed the murder in 1996, yet he answers an iPhone nearly right after the murder.
    • Quotes

      Townsperson: [talking about Marjorie Nugent] She would chew your ass out at the drop of a hat. I mean, she'd rip you a brand new, three-bedroom, two-bath, double-wide asshole. No problem.

    • Crazy credits
      Before the main credits roll, photos of the real-life Bernie and Marjorie together are shown, along with a brief video of Bernie Teide talking with Jack Black.
    • Alternate versions
      According to the Technical specs link for the film, there are two different versions of this movie: one running 1 hr 39 min (99 min), and the other for 1 hr 44 min (104 min) (USA).
    • Connections
      Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Jack Black/New York City's Meatball Shop Guys/Beirut (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Love Lifted Me
      Written by James Rowe and Howard E. Smith

      Performed by The Florida Boys

      Courtesy of World Entertainment

      By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

    User reviews177

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Enthusiastically quirky
    One could technically label Bernie a docudrama, as it is definitely more than meets the eye in terms of bringing facts to the table. The film is intercut with segments featuring the townspeople of Carthage, Texas discussing their relationship with the real Bernie Tiede and how his cheery eccentricities rubbed off on the town. Some of them are clearly actors, one of them being Matthew McConaughey's mother, but many are authentic folk off the street. Linklater very early on breeds variety into a film with so many unique and cute subtleties that after a while, you contemplate what you may have missed. Enthusiastically

    Tiede is an assistant funeral director in Carthage, and can't be more proud of what he does. He's the man who fixes up the dead to make them look sometimes better than they did alive. Bernie is notorious for connecting deeply with his customers who have come to him after the death of a loved one, and even manages to stay in contact with many of them long after the funeral, dropping by and even bringing them flowers occasionally. He's a genial, kind soul and effortlessly brightens everyone's day. Almost like that guy on the street, at the office, on the bus, or in the neighborhood you don't know personally, don't know their history, or quite possibly even know their name, but you make the humane nuance to wave or say hello to them frequently. Tiede is an ode to that person in your life.

    Bernie becomes friends with Marjorie Nugent (MacLaine), a wealthy old widow, who is mean-spirited and, after occupying a certain disdain for him, gives into his cheeriness and they begin hanging out with each other. It isn't long before Bernie grows weary of Mrs. Nugent's browbeating comments and shoots her four times in the back. Devastated at what he has done out of pure anger, he manages to conceal the body for months before the district attorney Danny Buck (played extremely well by McConaughey, whose character somewhat resembles Woody Harrelson's cold-blooded cop from Rampart), a cowboy-hatted, tall, and thin man always dapper, becomes suspicious of Bernie. He believes his nice appearance is just a put-on for the heartless deviant he really is.

    The character of Bernie is played by Jack Black, in a role that is beyond any description I can helpfully provide. His character needs to be seen. Black takes a character, whose story and personality is likely unknown to many people in 2012, and invents this kind, charismatic person in the blink of an eye. Bernie is perhaps the nicest movie character I have been greeted with this year, and even after he kills an old woman, it's hard to even have harsh feelings for the sap. What he did was wrong, but it has become apparent that when a film features a cold-blooded killer, we are robbed of backstory and reason as to why he is doing this or how he got here. We learn so much about Bernie and his life before the inevitable murder that we almost can't hate the man despite his unforgivable actions.

    Richard Linklater, who previously worked with Black in the impressive School of Rock, directs this black comedy with a serene bite, providing it with a rich script, and three lovable performances by three fine actors. Its deep south cinematography reminds me of the kind used in the drama Seven Days in Utopia, only more expressively used and healthier for the tone of the picture, not to mention the involving narrative carried throughout the excursion truly compliments the quiet rural nature of its setting. Bernie is one of the most enthusiastically quirky pictures of the year.

    Starring: Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey. Directed by: Richard Linklater.
    helpful•71
    19
    • StevePulaski
    • May 20, 2012

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    FAQ1

    • Is it Jack Black doing the singing in the movie Bernie?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 22, 2012 (Iceland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Nghi Phạm Bernie
    • Filming locations
      • Carthage, Texas, USA
    • Production companies
      • Mandalay Vision
      • Wind Dancer Productions
      • Detour Filmproduction
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $5,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $9,206,470
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $85,805
      • Apr 29, 2012
    • Gross worldwide
      • $10,173,061
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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