Always trouble with Bernie

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Movie
German title Always trouble with Bernie
Original title Weekend at Bernie's
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1989
length 97 minutes
Age rating FSK 16, 12 shortened
Rod
Director Ted Kotcheff
script Robert Klane
production Victor Drai
music Andy Summers
camera François Protat
cut Joan E. Chapman
occupation

Always Trouble with Bernie (original title Weekend at Bernie’s ) is a black comedy by the US-American director Ted Kotcheff from 1989 .

action

Larry Wilson and Richard Parker, both employees of a large American insurance company, find inconsistencies in the company's accounting after a balance sheet check . When they tell their boss Bernie Lomax this, he is apparently enthusiastic about the commitment of the two employees and invites them to spend a weekend in his beach house. However, the two of them do not know that Bernie himself is behind these inconsistencies and that he has enriched himself through them. Fearing discovery, Bernie demands that the Mafia boss Vito, who is also involved in the matter, kill the two men. Instead, the mobster decides to have Bernie killed by the killer Paulie, as this also protects him from detection and Bernie has an affair with his wife Tina.

When Larry and Richard arrive at the beach house, Bernie has already been poisoned by Paulie. The latter has prepared the body so that it looks like a suicide . By chance, Larry and Richard also find a conversation saved on the answering machine in which Bernie gives the killer instructions on how to kill them. Since Bernie asked the killer in the saved conversation not to strike until he has left himself, the two of them drag the dead Bernie around with them from now on and try to hide his death. You get embroiled in hair-raising adventures with Bernie's party guests, including young Gwen. In addition, Paulie tries again and again to finally kill the apparently still living Bernie. In the end, however, Larry and Richard manage to overpower Paulie.

When they and Gwen sit on the beach with relief after the arrival of the police, the stretcher with Bernie's body accidentally rolls down the jetty, Bernie rolls down and lands in a sitting position behind the three who jump up screaming and run away.

criticism

“ A macabre joke that is much coarser in its design than the obvious Hitchcock model 'Always Trouble with Harry'. "

- Lexicon of international film

“ So this winged comedy has little to offer apart from the promising basic idea (...). Only Terry Kiser, who the killer the better, plays the unstable corpse with the smug smile with incredible body control, is able to breathe a little life into the film. "

- epd film :

Trivia

  • The film is a variation on the 1955 Hitchcock comedy Always Trouble with Harry .
  • The film cost $ 15 million and grossed $ 30 million again.
  • Andrew McCarthy was originally supposed to play the role of Richard, but while reading the script he fell in love with the role of Larry, which he eventually got.
  • Director Ted Kotcheff has a cameo as Richard's father Jack, who catches his son with Gwen at night when he (wearing only shorts) gets a beer from the fridge.
  • The shooting took place mainly in and near the port city of Wilmington in North Carolina . Bernie's house was only built as a backdrop on the beach of the nearby Fort Fisher State Recreation Area and was removed after filming. In the film, Hampton Island was Bald Head Island (also known as Smith Island), south of Wilmington, which is a popular place for retirees and whose small ferry terminal provided the ideal backdrop. The landmark of the harbor is the decommissioned lighthouse from 1817 called Old Baldy , which Richard and Gwen climb on their nightly walk on the beach. The landing stage where Larry and Richard start Bernie's boat is the landing stage of the Bridge Tender Restaurant on Wrightsville Beach on Bald Head Island.
  • In Bernie's weekend house, Richard marveled at a large-format picture by Roy Lichtenstein ("Great God! That's a Lichtenstein!"). This is the work Reclining Bather from 1977. In November 2002, the original changed hands at a Sotheby’s auction in Los Angeles for US $ 2,099,500.
  • The Simpsons episode Weekend at Burnsie’s (13x16) refers in the title to the English original title of the film. In an episode of Friends , Getting in Trouble with Bernie is mentioned as Rachel's ( Jennifer Aniston ) favorite movie. In addition, the Internet Movie Database now lists over 30 different films or series episodes, the title or content of which more or less clearly alludes to Always Trouble with Bernie . The film is also featured in several episodes of How I Met Your Mother , most notably the character of Barney.
  • The music video for the song Thank You by the band Die Fantastischen Vier is also based on the film.

continuation

In 1993 appeared the sequel Trouble Again with Bernie (Weekend at Bernie's II) .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Comparison of the cut versions FSK 12 TV - FSK 16 from Immer Ärger mit Bernie at Schnittberichte.com
  2. ↑ Always trouble with Bernie. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 12, 2018 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ↑ epd film 1/1990
  4. ↑ Weekend At Bernie's ( Memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ A Private American Collection. In: The City Review. Retrieved May 12, 2018 .