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BERNIE (2012)Movie Reviews
Comedy drama about a likable Texas mortician accused of murdering a wealthy but hated widow who unexpectedly befriends him. Cast:Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Richard Robichaux, Shirley MacLaine, Brady Coleman, Rick DialDirector:Richard LinklaterRelease Date:April 27, 2012DVD Release:August 21, 2012From:Millenium EntertainmentRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 44 min
Bernie (2012) played in key cities to very good reviews. • Dana Stevens wrote for Slate, "...a perversely heartwarming folktale... a story of thwarted love, not between two people, but between a man and a whole town." • And Stephen Whitty wrote in the New Jersey Star-Ledger, "Linklater has a real appreciation of his state's quirks, its color, its occasional chicken-fried weirdness. They're all served up in 'Bernie.' " More Reviews Below...
Alynda Wheat, People: VERY GOOD(cg) "Jack Black doesn't have to uncork his usual oddball mania to give the finest performance of his career... The story is insane enough..."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 120 words, 05/03/12
Mary Pols, Time: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...playful and cunning but never escapes the reportorial trap; observation after the fact rarely matches the energy of experience.... may sound funny, it's mostly just sad."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 732 words, 04/25/12
Jake Coyle, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "The real stars are, unquestionably, the townspeople of Carthage, Texas.... a curiosity -- a dark comedy that's not entirely dark and not quite a comedy, either."(See all of Jake Coyle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 611 words, 04/26/12
Adam Markovitz, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "...twangy, homespun observations interrupt and annotate the narrative until Black and MacLaine's scenes start to feel as trivial as reenactments on a true-crime TV show."(See all of Adam Markovitz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 196 words, 04/27/12
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...surely one of the performances of the year. I had to forget what I knew about Black. He creates this character out of thin air, it's like nothing he's done before..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 764 words, 05/04/12
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...it simmers along, never so hot as to burn and never too cool as to bore, but you can't help but think that the scenes and story could have used just a little more flavor..."(See all of James Rocchi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 683 words, 04/23/12
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Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a movie that may not ultimately add up to much, but which is filled with wonderfully odd details of weird Americana."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 397 words, 04/27/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "The film is one man's story, but it is also a sly study of human nature when it comes to assessing what is good and bad in people."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 806 words, 04/27/12
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Imagine a murder case in which the defendant is so beloved in the community that the prosecutor asks for (and gets) a change of venue."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 479 words, 04/27/12
John Anderson, New York Newsday: OUTSTANDING(cg) "A triumph for Black and his director, Richard Linklater, both of whom straddle genres with competence, confidence and no shortage of charm."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 337 words, 05/11/12
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Jack Black is highly amusing... and yet I spent most of the movie trying to imagine someone else in the part -- someone not so obviously doing a silly impersonation."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 760 words, 04/27/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...surely one of the performances of the year. I had to forget what I knew about Black. He creates this character out of thin air, it's like nothing he's done before..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 764 words, 05/04/12
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...the rarest of rarities: a truly unexpected film... Jack Black's performance is remarkable for its ability to be at once flamboyant and remote."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 985 words, 04/25/12
Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star: MODERATE(cg) "Is it a dark comedy or is it a scathing social satire?... Linklater does his best to make this true crime story a hybrid of both and, as a result, it succeeds as neither."(See all of Bruce DeMara's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 492 words, 05/18/12
Jennie Punter, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "Propelled by a perfectly cast trio of stars whose eccentricities shine in singular character roles, 'Bernie' is charmer."(See all of Jennie Punter's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 495 words, 05/18/12
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...love for his native territory keeps the movie from being a condescending caricature... Linklater's distance as an artist allows him to back up just enough..."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 459 words, 05/18/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...cheerfully twisted... is justice being served? That's the question we're left pondering in this weirdly funny, inspiring film."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 501 words, 05/18/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a one-of-a-kind comedy... layered with stranger-than-fiction comic touches... delightfully offbeat, wickedly good and well worth investigating."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 530 words, 05/18/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a true-life crime story in which the crime itself takes a backseat to the people who tell us about it. And they're a hoot... a dead-solid-perfect depiction of small-town life."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 578 words, 05/18/12
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The movie's bright and endearing and surprisingly lacking in a point. I wish I liked it better... The film's brisk, lightweight fun that floats away on a Texas breeze."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 596 words, 05/18/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: VERY GOOD(cg) "Richard Linklater has a real appreciation of his state's quirks, its color, its occasional chicken-fried weirdness. They're all served up in 'Bernie.' "(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 516 words, 04/27/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...allows director Richard Linklater to explore his own roots while telling a remarkable real-life story, something too crazy for anyone to make up."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 635 words, 05/18/12
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Black is terrific. Rather than winking at the audience, he plays Bernie as a guy who's thoroughly unaware that there's anything unconventional about his behavior."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 301 words, 05/18/12
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "Matthew McConaughey is terrific as the showboating district attorney who prosecutes Bernie despite the overwhelming public sentiment to leave the poor guy alone."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 517 words, 05/25/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (8 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...the rarest of rarities: a truly unexpected film... Jack Black's performance is remarkable for its ability to be at once flamboyant and remote."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 985 words, 04/25/12
Ann Lewinson, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...belongs to the actual citizens of Carthage, Texas.... like a more lighthearted version of Werner Herzog's 'Little Dieter Wants To Fly.' "(See all of Ann Lewinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 157 words, 05/17/12
Jesse Hassenger, Pop Matters: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...doesn't allow for much tension, comic or otherwise.... it's a curiosity in both form and content, a strange, darkly amusing little story told as if from a Carthage porch."(See all of Jesse Hassenger's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 809 words, 04/27/12
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Can a person really be charming enough to get away with murder?... somehow the whole enterprise should be funnier, darker and more pointed."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 858 words, 04/26/12
Bill Weber, Slant: WEAK(cg) "...never achieves pathos, only shticky (Jack) Black farce.... from small-town satire to cheap laugh-at-the-rubes cartoonishness... surprisingly shapeless..."(See all of Bill Weber's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 473 words, 04/25/12
David Denby, New Yorker: GOOD "...an odd movie -- mild in tone and circumspect, yet darkly funny... a smart movie, with a mordant satirical edge, but Linklater almost falls victim to his own sense of authenticity."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 911 words, 04/30/12
Jeannette Catsoulis, NPR: VERY GOOD "...an eccentric delight. We may know little more about its antihero at the end than we did at the beginning, but the journey is more than worth the price of admission."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 540 words, 04/27/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "The film is one man's story, but it is also a sly study of human nature when it comes to assessing what is good and bad in people."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 806 words, 04/27/12
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "Pitch-perfect performances by MacLaine and an unusually restrained Jack Black hold together this offbeat true-crime saga... a vivid work of small-town portraiture."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,088 words, 06/17/11
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Jack Black is worth the price of admission... an oddball May-December true life crime story that would have profited from being a whole lot darker and full-bodied than it is."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 954 words, 06/17/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "The film is one man's story, but it is also a sly study of human nature when it comes to assessing what is good and bad in people."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 806 words, 04/27/12
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: EXCELLENT(cg) "...darkly humorous... contains characters that do things that are simply unpredictable, though much of the movie is a re-telling of what actually happened."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 05/14/12
15.0 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Bernie (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 15.0 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Bernie (2012) (42 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Bernie (2012)'s reviews cover 85.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 24,846 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 592 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 21.6 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Bernie (2012)'s reviews on average broke 21.6 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Bernie (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Bernie (2012) (42 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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