Is it time for Jack Black's Hollywood reset?
More than a decade after the promise of 'Bernie,' it's time for Jack Black to seize his inner Robin Williams and share the extent of his talent with the world.
(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Film Ā» Features
Fri 24 January 2025 19:15, UK
In 2011,Ā Jack BlackĀ gave what is, to date, the best performance of his acting career.
Richard LinklaterāsĀ BernieĀ is basedĀ on the true story of a small-town undertaker in Texas who becomes the companion of an irascible widow. He is beloved by the community and known for being the kindest and most nonjudgmental figure in the community. The widow, in contrast, is reviled for her cruelty. When he shoots her in the back and stows her body in the freezer, no one cares to notice.Ā
Black was masterful casting on Linklaterās part. Known primarily for his comedic work in movies like Shallow Hal, Nacho Libre, Tropic Thunder, and countless animated movies, he often presents himself as a one-trick pony. However, for anyone who saw his flickers of emotional nuance in movies like Linklaterās School of Rock and the 2006 rom-com classic The Holiday, his potential was obvious.
InĀ Bernie, he recalibrates all the blazing energy that he usually unleashes on larger-than-life supporting characters and disappears into all that pent-up skill, creating a three-dimensional character who emanates gentleness but is somehow capable of cold-blooded murder. Black earned rave reviews from critics, many of whom seemed to chastise themselves for dismissing him as obnoxious comic relief in previous films.
āIt was something Iāve never done before and Iām attracted to that kind of story,ā Black told Film Stage around the time the movie was released. āI like a little darkness in my entertainment. I find it more interesting, maybe a little bit more honest.ā
Itās been nearly 15 years since Bernie was released, however, and in that time, Black has shown no signs of returning to similar territory. Heās voiced multiple Kung Fu Panda sequels, appeared in a slew of poorly-received comedies, and jumped on the big-budget studio train with the Jumanji and Goosebumps movies. What happened to the promise of Bernie? Is Black so hopelessly typecast as a zany comic side-show at this point that he doesnāt get sent more nuanced roles, or is he only interested in doing movies that fit right into his comfort zone?
Being a movie star is a pretty cushy job unless youāre working with Jared Leto. But in an era when actors like Matthew McConaughey and Hugh Grant can cast aside the entire first act of their careers and start a renaissance, itās frustrating to watch a performer with at least as much potential maintain the status quo. McConaughey and Grant were so pigeonholed as rom-com pretty boys that a pivot to drama and self-aware comedy took no shortage of effort on their part, but by pulling it off, they have rewritten their careers in middle age and provided a tantalising blueprint for other stars.Ā
Watching Black in Bernie, itās hard not to see echoes of Robin Williams, a performer known for his madcap comedy and electrifying energy who managed to tone it all down and give some of the most tender, dramatic performances of any actor of his day. Black might not be destined to overhaul his career like McConaughey or Grant, largely because he already has creative variation in his life through his music, but if he opted to balance the comedy and the drama the way Williams did, we might get to see something truly revelatory.
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