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This article contains spoilers for “Bernie.”
Richard Linklater’s underrated 2011 crime drama “Bernie” contains Jack Black’s bet performance. The film tells the true story of Bernie Tiede (Black), a gentle community man from Carthage, Texas, known for his soft-spoken demeanor and civic generosity. Bernie works at a local funeral home and has a reputation for making funerals look better and more fancy. His kindness makes him a little inscrutable to the locals, with many of them debating if he is queer or merely likes spending time with old ladies.
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In 1990, Bernie meets Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine of “The Apartment,” among many, many other films), a wealthy widow burying her husband. Marjorie is a special case for Bernie, as she seems to be the least pleasant, most cantankerous person in town. The pair soon begin what may, at passing glance, seem like a romance but is more likely a friendship. Marjorie, while outwardly mean, does have widespread interests. However, their relationship evolves to a very strange place. Indeed, Marjorie makes Bernie her financial manager and sole inheritor (leading some to assume Bernie is a gold-digger), yet she remains bleakly abusive to him and makes increasingly difficult demands. Bernie, for his part, tries to remain calm, but Majorie keeps pushing his buttons, causing Bernie to feel like he’s trapped.
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In 1996 (and this happened in real life as well), Bernie announces he is going to star in a local production of “The Music Man,” which Marjorie staunchly refuses to attend. Bernie, on impulse, shoots her four times in the back with a rifle, killing her. He then stuffs her corpse in a freezer and proceeds to use her wealth to enrich the local community, distributing gifts to everyone. Bernie is eventually apprehended by the police, but he is so beloved in the community that no juror will convict him.
Now, curiously enough, the film “Bernie” is in the midst of a streaming revival. According to FlixPatrol, it broke into Tubi’s top 10 most-streamed movies in the U.S. on May 2, 2025, hitting the number nine spot. Solana Token Creator
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