Black mixes mirth, murder; Borges set to sing Sinatra

By Ben Wood

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, May 25, 2012

~~JACK BLACK deserves an Academy Award best actor nomination for his remarkable work in "Bernie," the true story of the murder of a really mean, wealthy, East Texas widow. Murder is never hilarious, but the way this story is laid out makes the picture so funny. Black's Bernie Tiede character is the sweetest, kindest, most-loved man in small-town Carthage. He is an assistant funeral director who sings at services and also performs with teenagers in musicals. He is as helpful to everyone as anyone can be. His kindness to the widow before he dispatches her with four shots from a small rifle is overwhelming. The evil, arrogant, much-hated widow is portrayed by Shirley MacLaine. Matthew McConaughey is the district attorney. Both are splendid. The comments of townspeople, some who are actually town folk, telling the story and picturing Bernie as an angel straight from heaven, are hilarious. Besides Black, they are essential to making this picture so delicious. As of this writing, "Bernie" is playing only at the Consolidated Kahala …
<img style="float:right;padding-left:1em;padding-bottom:1em;" alt="" src="http://media.staradvertiser.com/images/20120525_FEAwoodMUGS.jpg" />
~~

JACK BLACK deserves an Academy Award best actor nomination for his remarkable work in "Bernie," the true story of the murder of a really mean, wealthy, East Texas widow. Murder is never hilarious, but the way this story is laid out makes the picture so funny. Black's Bernie Tiede character is the sweetest, kindest, most-loved man in small-town Carthage. He is an assistant funeral director who sings at services and also performs with teenagers in musicals. He is as helpful to everyone as anyone can be. His kindness to the widow before he dispatches her with four shots from a small rifle is overwhelming. The evil, arrogant, much-hated widow is portrayed by Shirley MacLaine. Matthew McConaughey is the district attorney. Both are splendid. The comments of townspeople, some who are actually town folk, telling the story and picturing Bernie as an angel straight from heaven, are hilarious. Besides Black, they are essential to making this picture so delicious. As of this writing, "Bernie" is playing only at the Consolidated Kahala …