Weekend at Bernie's

In the sweltering summer of 1989, two low-level insurance clerks stumble upon a $2 million fraud scheme at their company. Eager to impress their charismatic CEO, they bring the evidence straight to him. He rewards them with an invitation to his Hamptons beach house for Labor Day weekend. What they don't know is that the CEO, Bernie Lomax, is the one behind the fraud, and he has just ordered a hit on them. When they arrive at his lavish estate, they find Bernie dead on the couch. Fearing they will be blamed, they decide to prop up his corpse and pretend he is still alive.

Directed by Ted Kotcheff, best known for First Blood, this dark comedy stars Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman as the hapless employees, with Terry Kiser delivering a remarkably still performance as the titular corpse. The film was shot on location in New York City and the Hamptons during an actual heatwave, which added to the authenticity of the characters' discomfort. Composer Andy Summers of The Police provided the score, blending surf-rock with comedic cues. Produced on a budget of $15 million, the film grossed $30.2 million domestically and has since become a cult classic, spawning a sequel and countless pop culture references. [edit]

Larry Wilson and Richard Parker work at a large insurance corporation in New York City. Larry is a laid-back schemer who often arrives late, while Richard is more responsible and dreams of promotion. During a tedious audit of actuarial reports, Richard discovers a pattern of duplicate payments on the same death claim, totaling $2 million in fraudulent payouts. Excited, they bring the evidence to their charismatic CEO, Bernie Lomax, who congratulates them and invites them to his Hamptons beach house for Labor Day weekend.

Bernie, however, is the mastermind behind the fraud. Panicked, he meets with his mob associate Vito at a restaurant and arranges for Larry and Richard to be killed. But Vito is furious that Bernie has been having an affair with his girlfriend Tina, so he orders his hitman Paulie to kill Bernie instead. When Larry and Richard arrive at Bernie's modernist beach house, they find it empty. They help themselves to champagne and marvel at the opulence, then discover Bernie's body on the living room couch. Before they can call the police, guests begin arriving for Bernie's annual party.

Panicking and fearing they will be blamed, Larry and Richard decide to pretend Bernie is still alive. They prop him up in chairs, move his arms and head, and drag him around the party. Bernie's body suffers various indignities: falling off a dock, being dragged behind a speedboat, and being propped up in compromising positions. Meanwhile, Paulie arrives at the party, confused that his target appears alive, and begins stalking the premises trying to finish the job. The weekend becomes a chaotic balancing act as Larry and Richard keep up the charade, evade the hitman, and enjoy the beach house amenities. Richard develops a romantic interest in Gwen Saunders, a young woman from a neighboring house, while Larry throws himself into the party lifestyle. As the weekend progresses, Bernie's body deteriorates in the summer heat, making the deception increasingly difficult.[edit]