Bernie (2011)

This is supposedly based on a true story. At least it seems supposed at the beginning as you anxiously await for the movie to go from the set-up to the zinger that will make it funny, but by the second half of the movie you realize there is no zing, no great (or minor) revelation. I concluded that this could only be based on real life as it was so damned boring. When the credits roll and the real Bernie is shown, I found it credible.
This is another one of the movies off the "19 best movie of 2012 that you didn't see". (Interesting it's on this list since IMDb says it's 2011.) Like Casa de mi Padre, this film stars an actor, Jack Black, who when he is on his A game in a good movie borders on comic genius, but like CdmP, this ain't that film, and when Black is not on his game as he is not in this film and when the film is not top notch as this film is not, it is agonizing to watch him because it is so, so very banal and utterly boring. You can always say when Ferrell does this that it's the Saturday Night Live skit that should have been cut - you know, the one that was obviously funny to the writers (at least hopefully was), is at least five minutes too long and runs as close to one a.m. as possible, the kind of skit that makes you question your own judgment on whether you should be allowed to stay up so late and be in control of your own television watching.
While he was the star of this movie, Black seemed like he was cast as the co-star. His performance was consistent throughout, but not worthy of center stage. I don't know that this is his fault, as I think the story is pretty weak as presented. Shirley McClaine is completely wasted as the mean old spinster, Maurjorie Nugent. 90% of her onscreen time is spent with the same look on her face, which I guess was supposed to be meanness, but looked more like constipation, and she doesn't speak most of that time. The third star, Matthew Conaghey was the more engaging actor, playing a more engaging character that of a not unbelievable slimeball district attorney, but still a character lacking the ability to carry a movie on his own.
I've long been a fan of the film's director Richard Linklater. His initial film, Slacker, was brilliant, both in it's simplicity and style. While it seemed to lack a narrative thread, it really had one, casting a spotlight on Generation X in Austin TX, which illuminated our generation throughout the U.S. In subsequent films, Linklater moved to a more mainstream style of story telling with mainstream hits like Dazed and Confused and The School of Rock which starred Jack Black. All of his films take small slices of life and put them under the movie lense to apply to some greater truth, typically with a humorous side. I can only think that Linklater was trying to do the same with Bernie as he took a first leap into making a "True Crime" film that centers around a character in small town Texas. Unfortunately, while there may actually be a broader truth to be exposed with this film, Linklater commits the greatest sin in movie making - he made a boring movie.

Bernie at IMDb