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 may be dead, but he's still the life of the party!

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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 house that was shown from the outside on the beach as Bernie's house was actually built at the south end of Ft. Fisher and was then demolished at the end of the movie.

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Goofs

When Larry and Richard are trying to put Bernies boa on the move, we can see Larry giving full throttle on the boat, but the Rev Counter and Tachometer are on "zero", meaning the boats engine is not really working.

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Quotes

[Bernie has just finished typing up the ransom note intended for Richard and Larry's "big fall"]
Bernie Lomax: [chuckles] Oh, this is good. This is very good.
[puts the note in a suitcase, then gets up and abruptly sees Paulie behind him; freaks out]
Bernie Lomax: Ah! Oh, I didn't hear you come in.
Paulie, Vito's Hit Man: I know. I'm real good at that.
Bernie Lomax: I told ya the guys aren't here yet, did I?
Paulie, Vito's Hit Man: [nods head] It's quite a shack you got here.
Bernie Lomax: Well, it's home.
Paulie, Vito's Hit Man: Ooh, can I have a cigarette?
Bernie Lomax: Hmm?
[...]

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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

Remade as Nehlle Pe Dehlla (2007)

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Soundtracks

Night on Bald Mountain
by Modest Mussorgsky
Arranged by Randy Waldman

User Reviews

Under rated comedy blast.

Weekend at Bernies! Sure it is dumb. But the comedy is so smartly done that it makes it hilarious. I for one laugh my butt off every time I watch this movie. It is one of those movies that cheers you up if you are having a bad day. The duo of McCarthy and Silverman is almost flawless. They are wonderful to watch. Together they almost remind me of classic pairs like Laurel & Hardy or Abbot & Costello. If you just sit back and relax this movie can really tickle your funny bone. It even might make you `drop dead from laughing'. Oh.was that to corny.sorry. But honestly, this is a good film. Give it a try someday when you have nothing else to do or are having a party. (But beware just rent this one. The second one, although it has its moments, doesn't meet up to the original)