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:

The drop dead comedy of the year!

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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

Catherine Parks (Tina) and Terry Kiser (Bernie) are both Friday the 13th series alumni. Parks starred as Vera Sanchez in Friday the 13th Part III (1982), and Kiser appeared as Dr. Crews in Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988).

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Goofs

When Larry goes to make coffee in the kitchen, Bernie's head falls on Richard's shoulder. In the next shot, Bernie's head is upright, and falls on Richard's shoulder again.

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Quotes

Gwen Saunders: [whispering] Richard! Richard, there's a man... in his underwear... in your kitchen.
Richard Parker: [whispering] It's ok. He's with me. He's my, um... my butler.
Gwen Saunders: You have a butler?
Richard Parker: Yeah, it's okay, shh... he'll go away.
Jack Parker, Richard's Dad: [walks back from the kitchen, spots Richard and Gwen on the couch] Oh. Oh! I didn't realize you had company. Good evening, young lady.
Richard Parker: That's all right, Monroe. Yes, would you just go lay out my blue pinstripe for the morning?
Jack Parker, Richard's Dad: How about if I lay you out?
Richard Parker: Very well.

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Alternate Versions

In the mid-1990s, an alternate edit of the film was released to tie in with the release of Weekend at Bernie's II. Most significantly, the scene in which Richard interrupts Larry when he is having sex with the woman is trimmed, so that the woman does not appear. This makes the scene a little odd, as it's not obvious what Larry is doing in his room, and in total about 10 seconds of footage are cut. This was presumably changed to change the context of the sequel - the conclusion of Weekend at Bernie's II is dependent on Larry still being a virgin, and the original edit of the film strongly implied that he had been engaging in sexual activity. This version of the film now appears on the Region 1 DVD, but not on the R2.

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Connections

Referenced in Trial & Error: The Timeline (2018)

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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

Hilarious

This is one of the funniest films ever made. Sure, it's stupid, and it could never really happen, but it is hilarious. The 3 main actors are great, esp. Terry Kiser (Bernie). The boat scene is the best. Anyone with a sense of humor will love this movie.