Final Summer Throwback - “Weekend at Bernie’s” (1989) A Comedic Cult Classic

It’s finally time to wrap up my summer throwback review series. It was fun checking out some popular films that were released during the summer months and will likely do it again next summer!

So, to  wrap this series up, I took a look at a 1989 comedy that ended up becoming a moderate hit, despite mixed to negative reviews. This comedy eventually spawned a 1993 sequel that I’ve never seen before and it’s said to be one of the worst sequels out there. The comedy I’m talking about for this review - “Weekend at Bernie’s.”

Fun-loving salesmen Richard and Larry are invited by their boss, Bernie, to stay the weekend at his posh beach house. Little do they know that Bernie is the perpetrator of a fraud they’ve uncovered and is arranging to have them killed.

When the plan backfires and Bernie is killed instead, the buddies decide not to let a little death spoil their small time away. They pretend Bernie is still alive, leading to hijinks galore.

While the 1989 comedy, “Weekend at Bernie’s,” received initially mixed to negative reviews during its theatrical release, the comedy ended up gaining cult classic status once it was released on home media. Sure, the premise of this hilarious comedy can be a little on the absurd and unbelievable side. Yet, “Weekend at Bernie’s” is simply one of those movies to just turn your mind off for an hour and a half and just have fun laughing.

Even though some of the laughs come from a few slapstick gags, it’s the physical comedy that’s scattered throughout that really brings on the laughs. A lot of the physical comedy and gags come into play after Bernie is discovered to not be with us and the two guys really do anything possible to still have a fun weekend and make it look like Bernie is still alive and kicking.

A significant part of the movie involves the Richard and Larry characters (played by then-popular 80s actors Jonathan Silverman and Andrew McCarthy) dragging Bernie to various events, such as the party at Bernie’s house (many humorous moments there) and even the beach. The humor throughout this comedy can be a little on the crude and dark side, but it can still give you a good chuckle.

The divide between critics and audiences has made this 1989 comedy one of the notable examples of a critical flop becoming a popular hit. The movie’s gaga about trying to fool people into thinking that Bernie is still alive has been referenced in other movies and TV shows for decades.

MPA: Rated PG-13   (runtime 97 minutes)

You can currently stream this comedy cult classic on Hulu.

• Terry 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.

• Andrew McCarthy was asked to read the script to think about playing the part of Richard. When he read it, he loved the part of Larry, and got that instead.

• This was considered as a vehicle for Corey Haim and Corey Feldman early in production before it was decided to make the leads older.

• Richard suggests they go to Jones Beach with all the syringes. This is probably referring to the infamous "Syringe Tide" in 1987-88, when medical waste, including used syringes, washed up on several beaches in New York/New Jersey, costing massive losses in tourist dollars.

• According to Andrew McCarthy, the one thing that kept him entertained during the shoot in North Carolina was board games. Since Director Ted Kotcheff left McCarthy alone to improvise when he needed to, he brought his Monopoly game onto the set and plays off script in the scene where he's playing with Terry Kiser in character as Bernie.