Weekend at Bernie's (1989)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Ted Kotcheff

Writer (WGA):

Robert Klane (written by)

Release Date:

5 July 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

A lively comedy about a guy who isn't. [USA Theatrical]

Plot:

A pair of losers try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, but the murderer is out to "finish him off."

Plot Keywords:

Boss | Weekend | Beach | Beach House | Party

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Andrew McCarthy	...	Larry Wilson
Jonathan Silverman	...	Richard Parker
Catherine Mary Stewart	...	Gwen Saunders
Terry Kiser	...	Bernie Lomax
Don Calfa	...	Paulie, Vito's Hit Man
Catherine Parks	...	Tina, Vito's Girl
Eloise DeJoria	...	Tawny (as Eloise Broady)
Gregory Salata	...	Marty, Vito's Assistant
Louis Giambalvo	...	Vito
Ted Kotcheff	...	Jack Parker, Richard's Dad
Margaret Hall	...	Lomax's Secretary
Timothy Perez	...	Central Park Mugger
Mark Kenneth Smaltz	...	Harris, Security Oficer
Anthony Mannino	...	Superintendant
Polly Segal	...	Woman in Elevator

Also Known As:

Hot and Cold

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:12 (re-rating) (2006) | UK:15 (original rating) | Iceland:L | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bald Head Island, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Gladden Entertainment

Trivia:

Terry Kiser (Bernie)'s stunt double suffered a few broken ribs during filming due to all the pitfalls and stunts of playing a dead man; most notably in the scene involving 'Bernie' being dragged around the surface of the lake, bumping into metal floating obstacles.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Tina (Vito's girlfriend who's "secretly" seeing Bernie) is walking down the stairs after being with a dead Bernie, she's singing and her lips never move.

Quotes:

Larry Wilson: How do you like that? The guy gets laid more times dead than I do alive.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Undead (#9.6)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

VISSI D'ARTE, VISSI D'AMORE

The corpse is the "life" of the party!

Two young insurance company employees, Larry (Andrew McCarthy) and Richard (Jonathan Silverman) discover an instance of fraud and report it to their boss Bernie (Terry Kiser). Unfortunately for them, Bernie is the one behind the fraud, and he asks his mobster associate to take them out. Unfortunately for Bernie, the mobster sends his hit man to eliminate Bernie instead. Larry and Richard arrive at Bernie's gorgeous beach house for the weekend and, after discovering that Bernie is dead, manage to make it look like he is still alive so that they can enjoy the rest of the weekend.

An uncomplicated, very slightly plotted farce that is actually pretty fun if it hits you in the right frame of mind. The whole thing is extremely silly and yet extremely funny at times. McCarthy and Silverman are very lively, but Kiser completely steals the movie as the title corpse. I first noticed this amusing actor on a hilarious episode of 'Three's Company', and have remained amused by his performances ever since. However, I think that sad-eyed cult actor Don Calfa ("Chopper Chicks in Zombietown", "The Return of the Living Dead" is also worth mentioning, in a good comedy performance as the hit man who grows increasingly flustered in his attempts to kill Bernie once and for all. Catherine Mary Stewart is attractive and appealing enough as the girl Richard is interested in.

It also seems to be part satire: a commentary on self-absorbed rich jerks who are so into what they themselves are doing that they can't notice (or even sense) that Bernie is dead.

The movie's Canadian director, Ted Kotcheff, appears on screen as Richard's father.

All in all, a good comedy. I give it 7/10.