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You’ll remember way back in entry 43, assuming you read these in order like a normal, that I described Packer’s story in Cannibal! The Musical by using the old adage ‘truth is often stranger than fiction’. While there certainly no mystical dragons or space aliens flying around, it’s definitely a fact that events and stories that happen in real life are often quite extraordinary. You’ll recall, for example, that bit of news a while back about the crazed female astronaut who was caught driving cross-country to kill another astronaut while wearing an adult diaper? Or the miserable case of Ed Gein, who murdered people and used their bodies to make furniture? Or every single news story that comes out of Florida, perhaps. The real world is a fucked up place sometimes, and occasionally you have to take a step back and take a look.
Speaking of true stories, Bernie, directed by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Slacker) and released by Millennium Entertainment, is indeed based on a true story, about an actual murder that took place in real life. Jack Black portrays the title role of Bernie Tiede, a funeral director who lived and worked in the small town of Carthage. By all accounts Bernie was a beloved member of the community: kind, generous, a man who made friends with everyone he met and always gave 110% percent when it came to helping out people in need. If there was one negative thing that could be said about Bernie, it was perhaps that he was too generous; too easily swayed by the personality of someone more assertive than him. When he comes to the attention of Ms. Nugent (Shirley Maclaine), Carthage’s resident rich old hag, it starts off a chain reaction that spells disaster for everyone involved. A case of fatal attraction if ever there was one, but District Attorney Danny Davidson (Matthew McConaughey) finds that’s it’s a little difficult to get the conviction on Bernie when no one in Carthage has the heart to convict him. Comedy abounds, Jack Black gets some singing in, it’s all good.
The only real problem that I have with Bernie as a film is that I’m confused as direction Linklater planned to take it. The presents itself as a mockumentary, interviewing the residents of the town and such , but at the same time there are large sections of the film that are just acted as a normal film and have no connection to the mockumentary style at all. Are we supposed to assume that everything that we see in that case in a reenactment? Because there’s no indication of that being the case. I might be overthinking it at little, but i just found it irksome. Aside from that though it’s a fun little black comedy, and Jack Black tones himself down a bit in order to give a great comedic performance. Definitely a fun movie for any Halloween.
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