The trailer for Bernie was just released by Yahoo!, allowing us to witness Jack Black’s first attempt at crawling out of the hole that has become his live-action film career. (I’ll exempt the animated Kung Fu Panda and its sequel.) He’s in good hands with Richard Linklater, the director who gave him his most popular role in School of Rock, and the film definitely lives up to its promotion as a dark comedy. What surprises me most, however, is its style – the footage plays out like a mockumentary, with the folksy characters directly addressing the camera as they discuss the strange relationship between Black’s good-natured mortician and a crabby widow (Shirley MacLaine). It reminds me of the very funny 1999 film Drop Dead Gorgeous, including the small-town setting and murder theme.
Besides Black, the 77-year-old MacLaine seems feisty as ever, but I’m most impressed by Matthew McConaughey, who demonstrates a real comic swagger as a diligent Texas sheriff out to prove Bernie’s guilt. Along with the poster we unveiled, the trailer has definitely piqued my interest in this little film. See below:
Synopsis: Black plays Bernie, the beloved mortician in a small Texas town. MacLaine is the town’s richest, meanest widow, and even she adores him. No one will say a bad word about Bernie—even after he commits a very nasty crime.
Bernie will hit theaters on April 27th.
What do you think of this trailer?