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FOX

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Ted Kotcheff
Cast:
Jonathan Silverman, Andrew McCarthy, Catherine Mary Stewart
Writing Credits:
Robert Klane

Synopsis:
Two young men try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, leading the hitman to attempt to track him down to finish him off.

Box Office:
Budget
$6.5 million.
Opening Weekend
$4,506,086 on 1134 screens.
Domestic Gross
$30,218,387.



DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 2.0
French Dolby 5.1
Spanish Dolby 1.0
Subtitles:
English
Spanish
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
None

Runtime: 98 min.
Price: $9.99
Release Date: 5/6/2014

Bonus:
• Trailer


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
-LG OLED65C6P 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV
-Marantz SR7010 9.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD AV Surround Receiver
-Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu-Ray Player
-Chane A2.4 Speakers
-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


Weekend At Bernie's [Blu-Ray] (1989)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (February 10, 2020)

Movies don’t get more “high concept” than 1989’s Weekend at Bernie’s, a comedy with one of the goofiest plots ever. 20-something pals Richard Parker (Jonathan Silverman) and Larry Wilson (Andrew McCarthy) work together at the same insurance company.

During their duties, they discover signs of embezzlement. They report these actions to their supervisor, Bernie Lomax (Terry Kiser).

Bernie claims to feel delighted by this information, and he invites Richard and Larry to party with him at his deluxe beach house. However, Bernie himself committed the fraud, and he arranges for a hitman to take out Richard and Larry.

Unfortunately for Bernie, crime boss Vito (Louis Giambalvo) has him assassinated instead, and the guys discover this when they arrive. Desperate to stay alive, they use Bernie’s corpse as a puppet to fool the hitman until they can find a way out of this predicament.

One of my friends loves Weekend - a lot. She alludes to it constantly and regards it as a cinematic classic.

Before I got this Blu-ray, I don’t believe I’d seen Weekend since its theatrical run in 1989. I maintain no memories of this experience, so 30-plus years later, I gave it another shot.

My friend is an idiot.

At its heart, Weekend wants to bring an update on the Some Like It Hot model. In both, two hapless pals go to extreme measures to avoid their demise at the hands of mobsters.

Thus end the positive comparisons. Hot exists as a comedic classic, whereas Weekend brings nothing more than cheap, stupid stabs at humor.

Who thought Silverman and McCarthy would create a good comedic team? Neither shows flair for the material, as they just yell and jump and mug for the camera.

None of this works. Silverman and McCarthy may have talent as actors, but as funnymen, they display zero skill or touch.

Not that Lemmon and Curtis – or whatever comic duo you want – could save this inane film. I don’t fault Weekend for the sheer stupidity of its premise – sure, it requires the demolition of disbelief, but I could deal with that.

However, some form of wit and cleverness would go a long way toward redemption. We find literally nothing funny or charming or fresh here, as Weekend substitutes lame jokes and cheap slapstick for actual humor.

Then there’s the utterly tacked on romantic subplot between Richard and Gwen (Catherine Mary Stewart). These moments exist to fill space, as they bring nothing else to the story.

Weekend barely attempts a plot. Instead, it seems ambling and unfocused, as it takes long forays into useless tangents.

Weekend earned a decent audience back in 1989. I can’t figure out why, as it provides an utterly unfunny and idiotic comedy.


The Disc Grades: Picture B-/ Audio B-/ Bonus D-

Weekend at Bernie’s appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a dated but decent transfer.

Sharpness looked generally good. Some soft shots showed up along the way, but the majority of the flick seemed reasonably crisp and well-defined.

No shimmering occurred, and jagged edges, but occasional edge haloes appeared. Source flaws were absent, though the image could seem a bit on the grainy side.

Colors seemed adequate. The movie used a varied palette that could seem a bit heavy, but given the stocks of the era, the hues became more than acceptable.

Blacks also seemed dark and firm, while shadows showed good delineation and smoothness. Nothing here dazzled, but the image looked better than expected.

As for the DTS-HD MA 2.0 soundtrack of Harry, it seemed wholly unexceptional. This was a bland soundfield without much to make it stand out from the crowd. Music did show nice stereo delineation, and effects spread to the sides in a minor manner.

Outside of music, surround usage was modest, as the back speakers added little. This was a flick without much breadth to the soundscape.

Audio quality was adequate. Though speech showed occasional signs of edginess, the lines usually appeared acceptably natural and concise.

Music was similarly low-key, but the songs and score demonstrated decent range and fullness. Effects never taxed my system, as they were accurate but without much punch. This was an adequate track and that was about it.

The disc includes a trailer but it lacks any other extras.

With its wacky premise, Weekend at Bernie’s comes with the potential to deliver a silly comedy. It squanders any positives, though, and turns into a witless, charm-free stinker. The Blu-ray offers acceptable picture and audio, but the disc lacks bonus materials. Avoid this atrocity.

Viewer Film Ratings: 2.3333 Stars Number of Votes: 3
15:
04:
0 3:
02:
21:
View Averages for all rated titles.

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Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main