Bernie (2012)
76%RT Audience Score: 60%
Awards & Nominations: 1 nomination
Richard Linklater’s Bernie is a gently told and unexpectedly amusing true-crime comedy that benefits from an impressive performance by Jack Black
Bernie is a movie that will make you laugh, cringe, and question the justice system all at once. Jack Black delivers a hilarious performance as the titular character, and the film’s tone strikes a perfect balance between dark comedy and true crime drama. It’s a strange and fascinating story that will keep you hooked until the very end. Plus, who knew a funeral director could be so entertaining? Overall, Bernie is a must-watch for anyone who loves a good, offbeat movie.
Production Company(ies)
Hand Made Films, Python Pictures,
Distributor
Millennium Entertainment
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1989
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 44m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 27, 2012 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 21, 2012
Genre(s)
Comedy/Crime
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $30,218,387
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $73,635,319
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,170
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 8,030,024
US/Canada gross: $30,218,387
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $73,635,319
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 900
US/Canada opening weekend: $4,506,086
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $10,980,304
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 930
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Kathy Bates – Mrs. Kadoya (Voice)
Mila Brener – Young Hisako (Voice)
Ellen Burstyn – Elderly Lady (Voice)
Geena Davis – Yoriko Sasaki (Voice)
Grey DeLisle – Setsu Oiwa (Voice)
Director(s)
Richard Linklater
Writer(s)
Richard Linklater, Skip Hollandsworth
Producer(s)
Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Liz Glotzer, Matt Williams, David McFadzean, Judd Payne, Dete Meserve, Ginger Sledge, Richard Linklater
Film Festivals
South by Southwest
Awards & Nominations
1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (169) | Top Critics (57) | Fresh (149) | Rotten (20)
Bernie lacks the edge of malice one might reasonably expect from so nasty a tale.
February 22, 2019
J. Hoberman
ARTINFO.com
TOP CRITIC
[Jack] Black is hilarious, all towering tolerance that finally reaches boiling point.
September 5, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Anna Smith
metro.co.uk
TOP CRITIC
But the troubling question at the heart of this liberating, sunlit, deceptively simple but extremely complex and fairly formidable film is: should the law or the community itself decide the fate of its citizens?
November 5, 2013
Kent Jones
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It looks like a southern gothic and feels like a particularly hilarious farce, but Bernie is not at all what you think.
May 5, 2013 | Rating: 5/5
Tara Brady
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
Linklater observes it all with an ironic smile on his face. But he’s never patronising enough to sneer.
April 26, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Really impressive.
April 25, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Andrew Pulver
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
One day we will all come to the realization that Jack Black is one of the great actors of our time. Bernie could be his masterwork.
June 9, 2022 | Rating: A
Kent Garrison
Mad About Movies Podcast
A film that could have gone wrong so easily, had it not mastered the tone of a tricky story and even trickier protagonist- but master it he did (10th anniversary)
May 2, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Stephen Silver
Tilt Magazine
Bernie is not an instant classic, but I still think most people will enjoy it.
March 24, 2021
Jack Fleischer
Battleship Pretension
It is pleasing to see Richard Linklater returning to intriguing subject matter rooted in “in the actual business of human life,” as a novelist once put it. We hope he continues and deepens his efforts.
February 12, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
A true crime story that falls into the stranger than fiction category.
January 31, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Richard Crouse
Richard Crouse
A production of medium affectations and general neutrality.
December 1, 2020 | Rating: 4/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins…
Plot
Two young men are trying to make their way in a corporation. One on charm, the other on hard work. When they go to the president (Bernie) with a serious financial error on a printout, he pretends to be thrilled and invites them to his beach house for the weekend. He actually plans on having them killed. Bernie is also fooling around with the girlfriend of his mafia partner. When the partner has Bernie killed, the boys end up having to pretend Bernie is still alive as the frustrated hit man tries time and time again to complete the job.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
Richard-Linklater.jpg
