Jack Black's Overlooked Darkly Comedic Crime Thriller Is Finally Finding An Audience On Tubi

This article contains spoilers for "Bernie."

Richard Linklater's underrated 2011 crime drama "Bernie" contains Jack Black's bet performance. The film tells the true story of Bernie Tiede (Black), a gentle community man from Carthage, Texas, known for his soft-spoken demeanor and civic generosity. Bernie works at a local funeral home and has a reputation for making funerals look better and more fancy. His kindness makes him a little inscrutable to the locals, with many of them debating if he is queer or merely likes spending time with old ladies.

In 1990, Bernie meets Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine of "The Apartment," among many, many other films), a wealthy widow burying her husband. Marjorie is a special case for Bernie, as she seems to be the least pleasant, most cantankerous person in town. The pair soon begin what may, at passing glance, seem like a romance but is more likely a friendship. Marjorie, while outwardly mean, does have widespread interests. However, their relationship evolves to a very strange place. Indeed, Marjorie makes Bernie her financial manager and sole inheritor (leading some to assume Bernie is a gold-digger), yet she remains bleakly abusive to him and makes increasingly difficult demands. Bernie, for his part, tries to remain calm, but Majorie keeps pushing his buttons, causing Bernie to feel like he's trapped.

In 1996 (and this happened in real life as well), Bernie announces he is going to star in a local production of "The Music Man," which Marjorie staunchly refuses to attend. Bernie, on impulse, shoots her four times in the back with a rifle, killing her. He then stuffs her corpse in a freezer and proceeds to use her wealth to enrich the local community, distributing gifts to everyone. Bernie is eventually apprehended by the police, but he is so beloved in the community that no juror will convict him.

Now, curiously enough, the film "Bernie" is in the midst of a streaming revival. According to FlixPatrol, it broke into Tubi's top 10 most-streamed movies in the U.S. on May 2, 2025, hitting the number nine spot.

The bulk of Linklater's movies are set in Texas, and he is clearly interested in local characters and local legends. The story of Bernie Tiede obviously fascinated him as well, and it's easy to see why. Bernie was a champion of the community, super kind and widely beloved. He was the last person one might assume would commit a murder. Marjorie and her abusive behavior were enough to push Bernie to the brink. Kindness, it seems, can be exploited. And yet, Bernie and Marjorie really did seem to understand each other and formed a relationship. Did they love one another?

Bernie received a life sentence for murdering Marjorie, but everyone in Carthage, Texas still loved him, believing him to be an endlessly decent man. He used his access to Marjorie's fortune to support local businesses and distribute gifts. When the police arrested him, they seized everything he had bought and forced those local businesses to close. What was the lesson there?

In 2016, Texas Monthly caught up with the real Bernie Tiede, and he seemed to be just as scrupulously kind as Black depicted him in the movie. He had been attacked in prison once but remained "a model prisoner," still treating everyone with kindness and even going so far as to teach a prison health class. In 2014, Tiede was released on bail ... and moved in with Linklater. It seems that "Bernie" had turned public opinion in Bernie's favor, so he was allowed out, provided Linklater looked after him. (He stayed in Linklater's garage.) Tiede was re-sentenced in 2016, however, after his victim's family appealed. He is still in prison to this day.

"Bernie" is not just a fascinating true-crime story, though. It's also a downbeat, mellow, semi-comedic, and deeply tragic portrait of abusive relationships. The circumstances were wrong for everyone, and a woman was killed. But was Bernie a bad person? 

Linklater is one of our best filmmakers, and "Bernie" is worth a watch. Be sure and check out Linklater's "Hit Man," too.