Weekend at Bernie's (1989)

Two losers try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, leading the hitman to attempt to track him down to finish him off.

Director:

Ted Kotcheff

Writer:

Robert Klane

Stars:

Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Catherine Mary Stewart

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Two young men are trying to make their way in a corporation. One on charm, the other on hard work. When they go to the president (Bernie) with a serious financial error on a printout, he pretends to be thrilled and invites them to his beach house for the weekend. He actually plans on having them killed. Bernie is also fooling around with the girlfriend of his mafia partner. When the partner has Bernie killed, the boys end up having to pretend Bernie is still alive as the frustrated hit man tries time and time again to complete the job.

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Plot Keywords:

character name in title | boss | weekend | beach | beach house | 

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Taglines:

Bernie Lomax would be the perfect host, except for one small problem: He's dead.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 July 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hot and Cold

Filming Locations:

Figure Eight Island, Harnett, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$30,218,387

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gladden Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Terry Kiser's stunt double suffered a few broken ribs during filming, most in the scene in which Bernie is dragged around the surface of the ocean, bumping into metal floating obstacles.

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Goofs

When dealing with the corpse inside the house, Richard alternates between shod and barefoot.

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Quotes

Larry Wilson: Why don't we just pretend he didn't die? Just for a bit!

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Alternate Versions

Much of the explicit language was toned down for the UK DVD released 2001. Overdubs from the original actors were used to make the movie more "family friendly".

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return: The Beast of Hollow Mountain (2017)

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Soundtracks

Vissi D'Arte, Vissi D'Amore
by Giacomo Puccini
Éva Marton with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester (as Munich Radio Orchestra),
Giuseppe Patanè (as Giuseppe Patane), Director
From the Album "PUCCINI ARIAS" (IMT 42167)
Appears Courtesy of CBS MASTERWORKS, Under license from CBS SPECIAL PRODUCTS

User Reviews

Uproariously funny black comedy.

Hilarious, totally off the wall black comedy about two buddies (Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman) whose boss, Bernie, has been bumped off by gangsters but whose death goes unrecognized the entire weekend by his self-centered beach friends. Utterly tasteless, goofy, ridiculous, wonderfully funny movie with loads of quirky characters. Andrew McCarthy at his most charmingly loopy and Jonathan Silverman terrific as his straight arrow buddy. Great turn by Terry Kiser as Bernie, who will not go away or play dead. Ridiculous situations that are just plain fun to watch. A movie to remember with delight and to enjoy at a repeat viewing.