Bernie Tiede (Jack Black) was a renaissance man. He worked at a funeral home as an assistant director, gave eulogies, led church choirs, and was a hit with the ladies (mostly the older ladies). He struck up a friendship with Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), a widow unpopular with her town. The friendship turned to Bernie being more of a servant to Marjorie, and she demanded more and more of him. Bernie snaps and shoots Marjorie, and is tried for the crime by Danny Buck (Matthew McConaughey).
Bernie is an average film- it does have some good laughs in it, but the film might have benefited from being 20-30 minutes shorter- there's a lot of exposition in the form of interviews with the townspeople and others that knew him. Jack Black is very restrained as Bernie and McLaine just the opposite as Marjorie, but the conflict in the movie never hits a high level, so the film doesn't leave a lasting impression.
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