Movie Review: Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)

★★★★★

Weekend at Bernie’s is completely ridiculous, and that’s what makes it great. A dead guy in sunglasses has no business being this funny.

Jessie K.

Tennessee

There are some movie premises that sound completely ridiculous on paper, the kind you’d expect to fizzle after the first 15 minutes. Weekend at Bernie’s is one of those… and yet it somehow works for nearly two hours.

As a reviewer for BoxReview.com, I think the real magic of Bernie’s isn’t just in the absurdity of its central joke, but in how committed everyone is to keeping that joke alive literally and figuratively from the first scene to the last.

The Premise: Dead Man Lounging

Richard Parker (Jonathan Silverman) and Larry Wilson (Andrew McCarthy) are two low-level employees at an insurance company who discover a major fraud. Excited to share their findings, they take them to their boss, Bernie Lomax (Terry Kiser).

Bernie invites them to his Hamptons beach house for the weekend, but they soon find out he’s been working with the people committing the fraud. Before he can have them killed, Bernie ends up dead himself.

Rather than call the police immediately (and risk being blamed), Richard and Larry decide to keep up the illusion that Bernie is still alive, leading to a series of increasingly ridiculous situations as party guests, neighbors, and even a hitman somehow fail to notice that Bernie is no longer with us.

Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman: Perfectly Mismatched

One of the reasons Weekend at Bernie’s works is the chemistry between McCarthy and Silverman. Larry (McCarthy) is chaotic and impulsive; Richard (Silverman) is cautious and awkward.

Most comedies with this kind of duo lean too heavily on the straight man/wild card formula, but here, both characters get their moments to be ridiculous. Watching Richard go from “We should call the cops” to “Okay, let’s just put sunglasses on him” is one of the film’s funniest evolutions.

Terry Kiser as Bernie: The Most Committed Performance in Comedy History

It’s easy to overlook Terry Kiser’s contribution because, well, he’s playing a corpse. But that’s exactly why it’s so impressive.

Kiser manages to give Bernie “life” even in death, through his limp body movements, flopping head, and occasional moments where the wind or an accidental tug on his arm makes him seem animated. He sells the illusion so well that you actually start to believe the people around him might be fooled.

The Humor: Physical Comedy with a Dark Edge

At its heart, Weekend at Bernie’s is slapstick. The jokes come from watching Richard and Larry physically manipulate Bernie into situations: propping him up on a couch, carrying him through a crowd, or strapping him to a boat.

But there’s also a dark, almost satirical undercurrent, the idea that in a wealthy, status-obsessed social circle, no one notices (or cares) that Bernie is dead as long as the party keeps going.

The Hamptons Setting: A Satire of the 80s

The film’s setting is more than just a backdrop. The Hamptons of Weekend at Bernie’s is a playground for the rich, where image matters more than reality. People greet Bernie warmly without noticing he doesn’t respond, because they’re too wrapped up in themselves.

This says a lot about the “greed is good” culture of the late 80s, a theme that often gets overlooked because it’s buried under all the goofy corpse-dragging.

Underappreciated Element: The Hitman Subplot

A lot of viewers forget that there’s an actual murder plot running underneath the comedy. The hitman, played by Don Calfa, is constantly circling back to make sure Bernie’s “really” dead, which adds a weird tension to the otherwise lighthearted chaos.

It’s a clever structural choice because it gives the movie stakes beyond “will they get caught?” There’s always the possibility that the hitman will catch up to them, and it’s played for laughs without undermining the danger.

The Soundtrack and Tone

The film’s soundtrack leans into breezy, beachy tunes that contrast hilariously with what’s happening on screen. The light tone keeps the story from feeling grim, even though the main character is, well… a corpse.

The Big Joke: Why It Stays Funny

You’d think the gag of pretending Bernie’s alive would wear out quickly, but the writers find increasingly absurd ways to keep it fresh. Whether it’s Bernie’s hand accidentally waving at someone or his head bobbing along to music, the film finds endless variations on the same theme.

The commitment to the bit is total, and that’s what makes it work.

Why Weekend at Bernie’s Still Works Today

Released in 1989, the film feels like a time capsule of late-80s fashion, music, and attitudes. But it also taps into a universal comedic truth: people will go to absurd lengths to avoid trouble, even if their solution creates bigger problems.

It’s also surprisingly rewatchable. Once you know the plot, you can just enjoy the timing, the background gags, and Terry Kiser’s floppy-limbed brilliance.

Final Thoughts

Weekend at Bernie’s is the kind of comedy that shouldn’t work on paper, but somehow ends up being both ridiculously dumb and surprisingly clever. It’s physical comedy done with precision, and its satirical undercurrent gives it a little more bite than it gets credit for.

If you’ve never seen it, you’re in for a strange, hilarious ride. And if you have, you probably already know that sunglasses and a smile can hide a lot.