Comments on: On DVD/Blu-ray – Review: Bernie (2012)

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 13:23:18 +0000

Helen–Yes, that was hilarious. :)

By: Helen

Helen — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 12:38:58 +0000

It’s cool to see so much love for BERNIE.

@Michelle: I loved the interview segment early on with the man in the diner explaining Texas and its demographics, illustrated by the animated map.

@Miriam: Bernie on the stand was the movie’s one real weak point. The physical setting- small, shabby, ill-lit courtroom- was realistic but if the dramatization was a fair representation of Bernie’s lawyer’s trial skills, he doesn’t deserve his local reputation. On the whole it didn’t bother me too much but I think that’s mostly because I long ago gave up on expecting anything good from courtroom scenes.

By: Nir Shalev

Nir Shalev — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 22:31:17 +0000

Wow, great review! I strayed away from reviewing this because I tend to focus on plot summery and story structure (whether good or bad) in my film reviews but Bernie exhumes so much goodness and it so terrifically good-natured that, like Helen mentioned in her review, it’s damn-near impossible to write a coherent and intelligent review.

Bravo for that Helen, you kept it (relatively) short and sweet! :O)

By: Miriam

Miriam — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:06:00 +0000

It is often difficult to articulate why you like something, especially when it’s not from the usual mold. Bernie takes all those disparate movie elements you mention and somehow keeps them all in balance. As a viewer, though, I felt pleasurably off-balance most of the time because the film kept surprising me.

The only point where I thought it faltered was the actual trial scenes. The lawyers seemed to have crossed to the wrong side of the exaggeration/caricature line. Wouldn’t you think Bernie would have an appeal for lawyer incompetence based on what we see? I wish they had told us about it without going into the courtroom since there wasn’t enough time to treat the trial effectively. How did those scenes strike you?

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 01:40:15 +0000

Great review, Helen. I find it very difficult to wrap words around why I love this movie so much, and you do a great job here!

I love so much about it, but I think my favorite things are the talking head interviews, which are so precious and funny. I think Jack Black deserves a nod, but who knows how that will go. It’s early.

Fun fact: my sister-in-law had lunch with Jack Black once–when she was an extra in Shallow Hal. :)

By: Commentary Track

Commentary Track — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:42:57 +0000

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