Weekend At Bernie's (1989)
Also known as "Hot and Cold"
Bernie may be dead, but he's still the life of the party!
Starring: Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Catherine Mary Stewart, Terry Kiser, Don Calfa, Catherine Parks, Eloise Broady, Gregory Salata, Louis Giambalvo, Ted Kotcheff, Margaret Hall, Timothy Perez, Mark Kenneth Smaltz, Anthony Mannino, Polly Segal
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Running Time: 95 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 15
Adventure, Comedy
On DVD Plenty of actors will go through their entire careers without producing a performance as lively as Terry Kiser's in 'Weekend at Bernie's'. Quite an achievement for ol' Terry, given he spends the vast majority of this movie portraying a corpse.
Kiser plays Bernie Lomax, the big-shot insurance company mogul who invites payroll schmucks Larry Wilson (Andrew McCarthy) and Richard Parker (Jonathan Silverman) to his Hampton Island beach house as thanks for discovering a $2million glitch in the company books. The catch is, Bernie isn't thankful at all - predominantly because he's the scheming swindler responsible for the fraud.
As is customary in such situations, Bernie arranges to have the unsuspecting twosome rubbed out by da mob - only da mob have other ideas and decide to rub out Bernie instead. It's all politics, you see.
No sooner have Larry and Richard arrived at Bernie's tasteless beachside mansion than they discover their host's a goner. So obviously they call the police and go straight home, right? Don't be stupid! Of course not! How could you even contemplate such a thing?
The two chums decide to pretend their boss is still alive, at first just so that they can carry on partying, but later to avoid getting the hit-man treatment themselves. The main joke, of course, is that Bernie's mega-rich beach buddies are so engrossed in their own lifestyles (be it as yuppies, body-builders or bikini babes) that they never suspect for even a moment that something is a-miss (i.e. Bernie's lack of a pulse). And there lies the deep, deep social commentary inherent in 'Weekend At Bernies'. Well, sort of.
This is one of those late 80s comedies to have developed cult classic status despite its' no-brain premise and downright cheap subject matter. What it has going very much in its favour, though it can be hard to believe, is that it is genuinely funny. Although the script itself is nothing special, the all-round situation provides enough laughs to make this an extremely watchable summertime flick.
DVD Extras: Just a trailer.
It's Got: One seriously life-like dead guy.
It Needs: Not to have been tainted by its' own God-awful sequel.
Alternatives: Weekend at Bernie's 2, The Trouble With Harry, The Loved One
Summary: Black comic slapstick, ideal for when you want to laugh but don't want to think.
Review by Gary Panton
Review Date: 15th July 2003
External Links
Weekend At Bernie's at the IMDB
Comments1 Comment |
| This movie stands out from the 80's comedy scene with it's spectacularly original plot, jokes and characters. The 80's won't be remembered for it's comedies, apart from two or three, but Weekend At Bernie's is quite simply a comedy gem and instant classic. Released into a sea of corny, dull and quite often downright ridiculous 80's comedy movies, Weekend At Bernie is now (or at least, it should be)in the list of unforgetable comedies, remembered for it's hilarious, and original, plot and jokes. Littered with puns, gags, put downs and black comedy capers, this is 80's slap stick at it's best. |
| Comment by:- Thomas Lightley | | 01 June 2004 | ip: logged |
