Weekend at Bernie’s II ** (1993, Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Terry Kiser, Troy Byer, Barry Bostwick) – Classic Movie Review 9448

Writer-director Robert Klane’s unexpected 1993 sequel Weekend at Bernie’s II to the 1989 hit comedy Weekend at Bernie’s centres on the hunt for the deceased mobster Bernie Lomax’s cash.

Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman return as Larry Wilson and Richard Parker, the daffy insurance company accountant yuppies who get fired after finding and claiming his $2 million loot, illegally embezzled and stashed away in a Caribbean safe-deposit box.

They have to convince everyone that Bernie is still alive, and they are chased by investigator Arthur Hummel (Barry Bostwick) and by Bernie’s gang, while a voodoo lady sends a couple of men to New York to recover Bernie’s body.

This obviously ridiculous farcical plot provides the basis for some funny gags, amusing slapstick moments and effective scenes, though writer / director Klane (who also penned the original) has trouble keeping up the momentum, and the amiable star duo aren’t quite breathlessly hysterical enough to pull the movie through its longueurs, stale jokes and muddled subplots. So it is simply not as fresh and funny as it was the first time around.

Also in the cast are Terry Kiser as Bernie Lomax, Troy Byer, Tom Wright, Steve James, Novella Nelson, Phil Coccioletti, Gary Dourdan, James Lally, Michael Rogers, Constance Shulman, Jennie Moreau and Stack Pierce.

Weekend at Bernie’s II is directed by Robert Klane, runs 97 minutes, is made by Artimm, D&A Partnership, TriStar Pictures and Victor Drai Productions, is released by TriStar Pictures (1993) (US) and Rank (UK), is written by Robert Klane, is shot by Edward Morry III, is produced by Victor Drai and Joseph Perez, and is scored by Péter Wolf, with Production Design by Michael S Bolton.

It cost $7,000,000 and grossed $12,741,891 in the US, so plans for a third film were scrapped.

It is nice to know that ‘No animals or corpses were harmed in the filming of this motion picture’.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9448

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