Two idiots try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, leading the hitman to attempt to track him down to finish him off.Two idiots try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, leading the hitman to attempt to track him down to finish him off.Two idiots try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, leading the hitman to attempt to track him down to finish him off.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
Eloise DeJoria
- Tawny
- (as Eloise Broady)
Greg Salata
- Marty, Vito's Assistant
- (as Gregory Salata)
Tim Perez
- Central Park Mugger
- (as Timothy Perez)
Robert L. Horen
- Maitre d'
- (as Bob Horen)
Bruce Paul Barbour
- Beach Bum
- (as Bruce Barbour)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
James is right..it's a simple movie...but if you like movies like that, for wacky humour that's too unreal...go see it...first time I saw Bernie hit the channel boys, I was literally ROTFLMAO...I fell off of the couch.
This movie is best viewed in the summer when it's in the high 90s and the air conditioner is on full blast-all the water,sand and surf you need is right here. It's a carefree,breezy film,completely absorbed in its one intention-to make you laugh.
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.
Using the word "classic" for this movie may be stretching things a little, but the fact that everybody I know has seen this movie -- and enjoyed it to some extent, is saying something. The concept is ridiculous. Larry (Andrew McCarthy) and Richard (Jonathan Silverman) are invited to their boss, Bernie Lomax's (Terry Kiser), house for the weekend. Bernie winds up getting killed before they get there. The rest of the movie involves the hijinks that occur when Richard and Larry decide to pretend Bernie is still alive so they can enjoy their weekend in paradise. Much of the gags include Bernie's lifeless body being dragged about and posed. What's surprising is that much of the gags actually work. It's a one-joke movie that manages to sustain through the one and a half hours. Pay special attention to the boat scene -- on first viewing my sisters and I were roaring with laughter. Avoid the sequel "Weekend at Bernie's II" like the plague. Rather than inane and funny, the movie is just inane.
"Weekend at Bernie's" is a hilarious film about two losers (Jonathan Silverman and Andrew McCarthy) who stumble onto a plan by some unknown person in their company to steal from the corporation. They tell the boss, Bernie Lomax (Terry Kiser), and it turns out that he is the culprit. Now he wants the two of them killed, but his wandering eyes make him the target of the assassin. Bernie invites the two losers out to his beach-house in the hopes of them being eliminated. However, he is killed instead and when Silverman and McCarthy discover his body they pretend like he is still alive so they can get the great weekend that their late boss promised them. A truly original idea carries this film which is sick in one sense, but amazingly funny in another. Silverman and McCarthy make a surprisingly effective comedy team. However it is Terry Kiser, in one of the most under-rated roles ever seen during the history of the cinema, that makes the film work as well as it can. His uncanny ability to play a stiff corpse for nearly the whole film is truly revolutionary. If there was ever a performance that was overlooked by the Academy, it may be Kiser's role here (do not laugh). Overall the film over-achieves and is well-worth watching at least once. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Did you know
- TriviaTerry Kiser's stunt double suffered several broken ribs during filming, mostly in the scene in which Bernie is dragged around the surface of the ocean, bumping into floating metal buoys.
- GoofsWhen the 'boys' are transferring Bernie from the golf cart to the boat, Bernie's hands clench and open.
- Quotes
Larry Wilson: What kind of a host invites you to his house for the weekend and dies on you?
- Alternate versionsMuch 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".
- SoundtracksVissi 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
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Un muerto... pero de risa
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $30,218,387
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,506,086
- Jul 9, 1989
- Gross worldwide
- $30,218,387
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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