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 thing. He's dead. [USA Theatrical]

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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

The film's director Ted Kotcheff, made a cameo as Richard's father, the man who came out in his underwear and blew his cover.

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Goofs

Bernie is dropped over the side of the deck, next to the house and is later swept out by the tide. Later shots show a dune between the ocean and the house, revealing that the tide does not come up that high.

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Quotes

[the first "killer" enters opens the front door with Richard standing behind it with a fire log]
Beach Bum: You in here, Lomax, you little bastard?
[Richard swings, but misses when the bum turns his head]
Beach Bum: You jerk?
[He swings again, but misses again... ]
Beach Bum: Kick me in the ass. It's my turn now.
[... before finally whacking the bum's head, knocking him unconscious]
Richard Parker: Got him, Lar.

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Alternate Versions

The stapling of Bernie's toupee to the head was edited out of the German TV-version.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Susan Sarandon/John Cena/Michael Stipe (2016)

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Soundtracks

Hot and Cold
(End Title Song)
Written by Andy Summers and Winston 'Pipe' Matthews
Published by ANDY SUMMERS, INC. d/b/a EVOKE MUSIC
Administered Worldwide by LISTEN ROOM MUSIC, INC. (BMI)
Produced by Richard Rudolph and Michael Sembello
Performed by Jermaine Stewart
JERMAINE STEWART Appears by Courtesy of VIRGIN RECORDS LIMITED and ARISTA RECORDS, INC.

User Reviews

very enjoyable semi-black comedy

Maybe I'm just stupid, but I love this movie. I still remember when it came out and maybe it's just nostalgia because I watched it so many times when I was nine years old, but I still enjoy watching it. It does a pretty good job at catching the look and feel of the late 80s. All the hairstyles and clothing are pretty dated but to me, that's all part of the fun.

It all starts when our guys, Richard and Larry, discover a $2 million insurance fraud scam in their company. When they report it to their boss, Bernie (Terry Kiser) he seems grateful and invites them to his beach house for labor day weekend. As it turns out, Bernie is the one doing the scamming and has hired a mob hitman to take them out. Little does Bernie know, that the mob has decided that Bernie has been a little too careless and they have decided to take him out instead. So, by the time Richard and Larry reach the island, they discover that Bernie is dead from what looks like a drug-overdose. Instead of calling the cops, the less than bright Larry, decides it better to pretend that he didn't die. This will work since all of the island partyers are pretty self-absorbed and clueless. This is where it starts getting funny.

Since the hitman is still on the island, he keeps seeing Bernie, who he thought he killed and keeps re-killing him. It's hilarious, because the boys really don't have a clue that the hitman is even around. Watching them lug a dead corpse around, making him look alive, is one of the highlights. The fact that all of the islanders believe he's alive is even funnier. One of my favorite parts of the movie was Andrew McCarthy's performance as Larry. His slacker part killed me and he has some really funny lines. What ever happened to him? Jonathan Silverman also does a great job with an underwritten part. He plays the ulcer-bound Richard who SO tries to be the moral center of the situation. Terry Kiser is incredible, as always and he plays a dead guy VERY well. Some of the stuff that he has to do, I really can't see anyone else pulling off as well. My favorite scenes came when Bernie was alive. The guy is such an unbelievable jerk, he's actually fun to hate.

Ignore the other comments on here, and go get this one. It's great for some laughs and I STILL get a lot out of it everytime I watch it. A great semi-black comedy. Go pick it up and look for the sequel. I enjoyed it as well, although not quite as much.