Officially opening here in Denver (and lots of other places) tomorrow! Finally!

They showed it in Carthage last weekend. The Bernie website says it will be in Kilgore, Longview, Shreveport, and Carthage on 6/1. Lots of other cities in Texas and nationwide. Really glad to see it in more theaters. I'm watching it tonight.

http://www.bernie-the-movie.com/

gonna see it tomorrow.... saw this video from KLTV posted on the Bernie facebook page: http://www.kltv.com/story/18446118/i-just-snapped-bernie-tiede-speaks-out-from-prison-about-the-movie-based-on-his-life

The movie was very good. I liked the approach they took trying to tie humor with tragedy. It really captured the awkward nature of the story.

Jack Black nailed Bernie. I was impressed with his singing and mannerisms. The Carthage residents were hilarious and most were quite accurate. They tied the show together and had some great lines.

I think Matthew McConaughey as Danny Buck was a little weak but that may be because knowing of the real Danny Buck. For someone else who never met him they might be ok with the character.

Some of the other characters were spot on especially Don the funeral director, Jack the sheriff, and the lady who talked about Carthage being the best small town in Texas who I assume was supposed to be Tommie Ritter Smith.

Many of the scenes were set at real Carthage locations like Jalapeno Tree, Carthage Awards, the Hall of Fame, and Daddy Sams. Since they filmed in Bastrop none of the indoor shooting was correct but some of the outside was. One Carthage resident was interviewed on the square. Opening with the pines on Hwy 21 outside Bastrop was good touch.

It's shame how little it was advertised but I think word of mouth and local media could generate a lot of interest especailly in Texas. But the story and overall quality are good enough to generate national appeal. Overall great film.

[This message has been edited by kyledr04 (edited 5/19/2012 10:46a).]

I saw it today. MM as Danny Buck was over the top. Other than that, I thought it was really funny and told a good story while portraying the people of small town Texas very accurately.

Saw this tonight, liked parts and didn't like parts of how they treated the story. I think I would've liked it more had it not been based on a true story. Jack Black was great, the locals were clever and entertaining but am I wrong to feel like they trivialized a really sad story in the name of dark comedy?

I really wanted to like this movie, but just have a hard time justifying myself given how sad the real story is. Maybe I took it too seriously, but I can't get past the whole murder thing.

[This message has been edited by Dallasag02 (edited 5/24/2012 10:26p).]

It sounds like dark comedy is not your cup of tea.

Saw it yesterday. Good movie. The locals were hilarious. Crazy story that I didn't know about.

I like dark comedy, I think I just had a hard time reconciling dark comedy and true story. Its a great story and great script, at the end I just walked out thinking I can't believe that was true. Had it been made up I would've loved it. I still liked a lot of it.

Seems like you're one of the Dallas people they mention in the movie j/k, but you really don't understand how 1) bernie just snapped 2) the people in Carthage hated that old woman, she probably did deserve what she got.


...wife and I saw it on Monday, we thought it was hilarious. Since I'm sorta from east Texas it hit close to home. Jack Black is actually one hell of an actor, and of course great singer.

Saw it today. It was hilariously funny. The D.A. was over the top, but everybody else was great. The "locals" totally made this movie. Living in East Texas for a while, I thought they were all perfect.

I highly recommend it.

Saw is last weekend, and forgot to post my review, so let me channel my inner Fast Fred...

This is seriously the best comedy (dark or otherwise) I have seen in a theater in a long time. My wife and I (both native Texans relocated to Colorado) laughed out loud the entire time...from the local guy's description of the regions of Texas ("where the Tex meets the Mex") to the really great courtroom drama and the other quirky and hilarious scenes in the ending...it was a lot of fun.

Thought the movie was a very accurate representation of Texas, and especially small towns (I grew up in Overton, about 30-40 miles west of Carthage), and was really impressed with Jack Black and his command of the East Texas accent...although he didn't quite get the IIIII words, his A's and O's were spot on! That little part was really my only "complaint"...along with the fact that Bernie was carrying an iPhone (come on, Linklater, it's supposed to be 1996!!!) Matthew McConaughey's "character" was definitely over the top, but he had his moments...and the fact that he's from Longview, makes me forgive him for that just a little bit. Loved that he was drinking a Big Red in the courtroom scene...this transplanted Texan appreciated that little detail!

I loved the quote "if your son went to Texas and your daughter went to A&M..." and pretty sure the guy in the feed store(?) who plays guitar at the end was wearing an Aggie ring(?) Nice touches that reminded me of home.

The Mayan Theater (in Denver) was an awesome venue to see it, and we will definitely go back. The theater was mostly full, and seemed to really enjoy it...laughing and really into it the whole time. Most stuck around for the credits (and the additional commentary by the locals), and I heard people as we were leaving, talking about how good it was, and how much they enjoyed it.

Overall we thought it was great...and I'd love to go see it this weekend for a 2nd time.

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Saw this tonight, liked parts and didn't like parts of how they treated the story. I think I would've liked it more had it not been based on a true story. Jack Black was great, the locals were clever and entertaining but am I wrong to feel like they trivialized a really sad story in the name of dark comedy?

I really wanted to like this movie, but just have a hard time justifying myself given how sad the real story is. Maybe I took it too seriously, but I can't get past the whole murder thing.

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Just saw the movie. I thought it was excellent. They nailed East Texas. The movie was so amusing. Jack Black was excellent.

After the movie, I did think it was strange the way they made this lady's murder into a dark comedy. But that was their choice. And they made an excellent movie.

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but you really don't understand how 1) bernie just snapped 2) the people in Carthage hated that old woman, she probably did deserve what she got.

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This is amusing to me. Coming from a small town Texas background, I can think of some old women to whom that same thing probably applies.

I read the original Skip Hollandsworth story years ago, thinking I may have to go check this out.

Finally saw this movie with my wife. We thought it was hilarious. My wife grew up in Marshall and my dad grew up in Longview, so we have lots of family who live there. Holy **** was this movie spot on the money with regards to how many of the old men and women act. It really felt like I was watching more of a documentary into the lives of the people in Carthage because the actions and accents of the people were so authentic.

It was classic Texas, loyal to a fault if someone is nice to you all the time.

Jack Black was phenomenal as Bernie, he really should be in the running for Best Actor after this movie.

I didn't think MM as Joe Buck was all that bad because everyone knows a lawyer like him. He came across as the slimy small town lawyer who only gives a **** about being elected. I actually thought he played this part quite well. His character's setup of Bernie in the courtroom was pretty brilliant (it was very obvious that he purposely mispronounce Les Miserables to get Bernie to pronounce it properly and show he loved culture). Of course it helps that he is from Longview and knows the area well.

Just for those of you who missed it, here is the map of Texas again from the movie (it was spot on).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JREkqCvLzSo

Saw it with my Canadian wife, she laughed out loud throughout and the rest of the audience kept looking at her, like WTF? She was laughing because she had met everyone of those people from my Family over the years.

She still is confused about what a pimento cheese sandwich is.

Joke:
Two dudes talking at a bar-

"The only two good things from Canada are ho8es and hockey players..."

"my wife is from Canada!"

"oh, really ?? What team is she on?"

Wife and I loved it.

My parents knew Bernie and some of the locals through various church choirs in Shreveport and Carthage. My dad says Bernie really did have an excellent voice and Jack Black was spot-on.

None of the cell phones used in the film were available in the mid-90s, let alone the iPhone, which wasn't available until 2007. Not a big deal, but curious nonetheless. That's a detail that should have been easy to get right.

I finally watched this last night and was very impressed. You guys have already touched on everything I liked about the movie, but I'll echo your sentiments.

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Richard Linklater does a great job of getting the right "Texas" vibe in movies.

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it absolutely nails one segment of East Texas culture. It gets the accent right, and it gets the vibe right

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This is what I was thinking the whole time. My mom's side of the family grew up in East Texas, and I'm pretty sure the clothes that the locals were wearing are in my mom's wardrobe somewhere. The accents were perfect too (yes, I know many of these people are actually locals).

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The two weakest parts of the movies were Matthew M. and Shirley M.

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I didn't mind McConaughey since this wasn't really a "serious" role. He entertained me at the least. Shirley M was pretty weak.

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The part where the local redneck describes the regions of Texas just about brings me tears from laughter and pride.

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That was hilarious. I'm from the Panhandle, and was like "what about the Panhandle." Then he says "people usually forget about he Panhandle......" and moved right along. Laughed my ass off.

I thought it was a great movie, they did a "funny" take on a real life tragedy without being disrespectful. My respect for Jack Black just continues to grow (I already loved the guy). It's been cool to watch him evolve from the hilarious character he played in Orange County to a guy who can be serious when needed.

I couldn't find a screenshot, but the clip that was shown at the end of the movie struck a chord with me. It shows the real Bernie talking to someone, and then the camera pans over and shows Jack Black listening intensely, zoned in, and absorbing this real life persona.

Linklater got the vibe, culture, accent, and clothes of East Texas right because he used real East Texans. Their hair, clothes, and accents are all their own. My MIL was one of the ladies that they "interview" in the film, and they had her do all her own makeup, hair, and wear her own clothes just like she does every day. Other than a few actors, the majority of the townspeople are actually from East Texas.

The thing that gets me (that was mentioned above as well) was that the director nailed EVERYTHING...literally everything perfectly except "Bernie has an iPhone". Seems really strange!

Linklater is from Huntsville, TX, per the extras on the DVD. And it's worth buying just for the extras alone, which includes deleted scenes, some behind the scenes interviews with Jack Black, Linklater, and Skip Hollandsworth, and even the casting videos of the locals!

Finally watched this last night.

I almost cried laughing so hard at the guy describing sections of Texas. I grew up on the edge of East Texas, so it was funny to see all the typical people doing exactly what you'd expect.

I watched the movie recently and laughed out loud at several of the other points that people on here have mentioned, however, this one got me the most.

Bernie visits a "little old lady" house and behind him in the scene is this 70s brass shelving unit. We had the same one in our house growing up. I nearly fell over when I saw it.



[This message has been edited by rjhtamu (edited 8/30/2012 9:19a).]

[This message has been edited by rjhtamu (edited 8/30/2012 9:20a).]

"She'll rip you a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, double wide trailer a**hole." That had me laughing real hard.

Overall good movie. JB, who I'm not the biggest fan of, did a great job and should get an oscar nod.

Excellent. I had to pause the movie several times to explain to my non-Texan boyfriend that the portrayal of East Texas was spot on.

One of the funniest things I thought about in the movie was the townsfolk's opinion of when the trial gets moved to St. Augistine County.

The cuts and putdowns are hilarious.

Watched this movie this weekend. Excellent! Laughed several times.


The ruse about the truck competition to catch all the deadbeat dads had me dying.

The dead beat dad that started running and got tackled by the cops was portrayed by Richard Linklater, the director.

Just watched. Hilarious and spot on East Texas.

Oh. And it's on Netflix.

Jack Black just got a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor today for "Bernie." Well deserved in my opinion.