Do you remember that episode of Friends in which they play trivia and Rachel gets called out for claiming Dangerous Liaisons is her favorite movie when in fact it’s Weekend at Bernie’s? That joke lands because at that moment we’re all Rachel. We love this movie, but we can be afraid to admit it. (Except for me who will champion this movie until the day I die.)
And if you’re sitting there thinking, “Oh, but I don’t, not me.” Allow me a moment to change your mind.
Weekend at Bernie’s is one of those high-concept comedies that picked up cult status long after it premiered. What I find to be the most charming aspect of this movie is the commitment to its concept. This is, as Jonathan Silverman (who plays Richard) so succinctly put it in an interview with Larry King, “…about a guy who dies on page 20 and we drag him around the Hamptons for the rest of the weekend.” It’s a stupid movie. This is exactly what makes it so fun and so beloved even 30+ years later.
This commitment is also what makes it hard for what I will call “The Anti-Bernie Camp” to get on board with. Roger Ebert, for example, famously hated this movie and wrote a scathing review that I happen to find super hilarious because he just doesn’t get it. Reading it made me feel like I was explaining why gifs are funny to someone’s dad.
Ebert writes: “[...]it should be immediately obvious to several people that Bernie is dead. In order for them not to notice, they must be incredibly dense. Their behavior in not noticing is so idiotic that we can’t take them seriously, or care about what they do.”
I mean what a fucking buzzkill this guy is!
What I think Ebert misses here is that the “incredibly dense” people of Hampton Island (which is a very obvious stand-in for the Hamptons) are the movie’s representation of vapidness. Of wealth without depth. Of people who are so self-centered, they don’t have the time or energy to notice anything else but their own reflections. Larry and Richard are outsiders. They’re not part of the wealthy crowd and so subsequently they’re the only ones who have the common sense to notice Bernie is dead.
This is demonstrated in a scene that still brings me to tears: a loopy neighbor walks in and Richard says “Uhmmm… he’s dead.” And the neighbor says, whilst making a martini, “That’s the idea isn’t? Cheers.”
The roving parties of Hampton Island are in stark contrast to the movie’s opening moments. We’re introduced to Larry (Andrew McCarthy) and Richard as they walk through a sweltering summer day in Manhattan, survive an attempted mugging, work without air conditioning, and lament about the fish disintegrating out in Coney Island. They’re young and broke. Bernie’s mansion on the other hand, which comes fully stocked with alcohol and beautiful people, is a stand-in for the lives they dream of having one day.
Am I pushing my luck by saying Weekend at Bernie’s is a film with great social commentary? Possibly. But my point is this-- the movie is more than just a single joke running for 97 minutes. Which Ebert and others are so quick to claim.
The script is tight. The plot is simple. (Two things that make my heart go pitter-patter.) The chemistry between Larry and Richard is impeccable as they do a classic Odd Couple routine. Richard wants to climb up the corporate ranks by pulling on his bootstraps. Larry wants to be carried up the ladder while swilling a bottle of champagne. Just watch how they play this scene together when they find out that Bernie is dead:
There’s also a touch of “murder mystery/thriller” plot points thrown in among the obvious dead body jokes. Someone has killed Bernie and they could be out for Larry and Richard next. The audience knows who the killer is and gets to enjoy watching two points play out: Larry and Richard trying to save their own lives, and Paulie, a hitman coming out of retirement to kill Bernie, grappling with the fact that his mark is seemingly invincible. Also, it’s a nice touch that after the initial hit Paulie disguises himself as a Catholic priest and then later is faced with an existential crisis when Bernie won’t die.
Like all 90-minute movies, I love the speed at which this movie moves. The filmmakers continue to jump from gag to gag quickly and you may think they’re beating a dead horse (literally) but they continue to push the envelope and find new bizarre, crude things to do to poor Bernie. Wash him up on the beach, staple his toupee back on, use his body as a life raft.
The important detail in these moments is the well-executed physical comedy. Terry Kiser, playing THE Bernie, made the very important choice to create the “Bernie Smirk”. A sort of all-knowing, loose smile that says “Yeah I’m a dead body but I’m in on it.” Without it, the movie could definitely slide into grotesque territory.
There’s a reason Bernie’s is referenced throughout pop culture and especially in comedy (Friends. Seinfeld. The Simpsons. Key and Peele. How I Met Your Mother dedicated an entire episode to it.) It’s simply stupid and fun. They take some risks. And mostly it just really divides people. Just look at me and Ebert. The people who made this film knew they were making a stupid movie and I think anyone who appreciates comedy, appreciates that fact.
Finally, I’ll say this, it is so very easy to be serious in this life. It’s harder to be silly. Bernie’s allows us to be stupid and laugh for a minute (or 97, if you’re counting.)
Sources:
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/weekend-at-bernies-1989
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/weekend-at-bernies/
https://www.avclub.com/andrew-mccarthy-on-weekend-at-bernie-s-it-s-the-stupi-1798262175
https://screenrant.com/key-peele-show-meryl-streep-weekend-bernies/
Great stuff, Amanda! I have been a fan of the film for a long time! You captured it perfectly.