Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageWeekend at Bernie's (1989)
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A one-joke movie which moves puerile party humour from the Animal House to the yuppie world of work. Pals Larry (McCarthy) and Dick (Silverman) - one a smooth-talking sloppy-Joe, the other a tongue-tied whizz-kid-in-waiting - share desks and frustration on the trading floor at Trans Allied Insurance. When Dick finds a million-dollar discrepancy in payouts, they force their way into an audience with jet-setter boss Bernie (Kiser), who invites them, with Bela Lugosi smile, for a weekend at his Hamptons beach-house. Death is in the offing, but it's Bernie who gets stiffed (by his Mafia associates), not the boys. Question is, how long can they party, party, party with the bathing-suited bimbos and cool cat coke-sniffers before anybody notices that Bernie's a corpse? Kotcheff aims straight for the juvenile and spends most of his effort, successfully, on getting the timing right for the endless gags with Bernie's cadaver propped up on the sofa, falling downstairs, etc. But it's strictly kids'stuff and quickly palls.Author: WH
Cast & crew
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Producer: Victor Drai
Cast: Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Catherine Mary Stewart, Terry Kiser, Don Calfa, Catherine Parks, Louis Giambalvo, Ted Kotcheff full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 99 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'
Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now