Weekend at Bernie's II

A mildly diverting farcical caper... stretches a thin idea even thinner, but it offers enough puerile fun and well-executed gags to lure fans of the 1989 predecessor back to theaters before a more robust future on homevideo. Read full review

A much more high-pitched movie than its forerunner. [10 July 1993, p.15]

Though Kiser makes the zombified Bernie equally funny, WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S II spends too little time with him, and too much getting bogged down by subplots: two mob pawns' bumbling attempts to steal Bernie's corpse; Hummel's tailing Larry and Richard through St. Thomas, only to be arrested time and time again; Larry's failed romance with an island native whose physician father is, conveniently, versed in black magic; and Richard's being poisoned by the voodoo queen. Read full review

Unlike Weekend at Bernie's, the sequel asks audiences to accept far too many outrageously unrealistic situations. The plot begs numerous questions, and weakly attempts to provide answers. [17 July 1993, p.7B]

Weekend at Bernie's II only proves what critics have known for years: that on the planet of the bad movies, there's no life after death. Read full review

Weekend at Bernie's 2 is made for a certain audience -- the indiscriminate movie-goer who will see almost anything that guarantees a few laughs. Those that belong to that group will find what they're looking for in this film. Almost all the humor is macabre and repetitive, but the film manages to be sporadically funny. Nevertheless, I find it hard to believe that many people will pay $6 or $7 to see a picture that has TV sitcom production values, writing, and acting. Read full review

Weekend at Bernie's II has the tell- tale signs of a bad film directed by its screenwriter. There's lots of goofy shtick, and the actors seem to have been directed to act silly. Instead of playing for truth, they mug and overdo it, particularly McCarthy, and the result is deadly. [10 July 1993, p.C3]

Weekend at Bernie's II stands as just about the best argument I've seen in a long time that the Motion Picture Association of America's rating system is a complete farce. [10 July 1993]

After gagging on this second helping, all we can say is, Bernie, rest in peace already. [12 July 1993, p.4D]

Relentlessly awful. Not even Terry Kiser’s wandering corpse is funny this time around. Read full review

It's a tossup as to which element of padding is more lifeless - the labored buddy stuff between McCarthy and Silverman, the empty comedy of gangsters Tom Wright and Steve James, or the lame buffoonery of corporate sleuth Barry Bostwick. As long as the calypso beat is on, Bernie staggers ahead, a pepperpot of zombie mirth. [10 July 1993, p.22]

Absolutely nothing in this film suggests wit or talent; much of it suggests very easy money on the video aftermarket. [12 July 1993, p.27]

More eloquently than any funeral director could, Weekend at Bernie's II makes the case for quick cremation. [13 July 1993, p.C5]

The whole production is like a wake. Rest in peace, Bernie. Please. Read full review

Wretched excuse for a film comedy. [12 July 1993]

Calling it "idiotic" would be unfair to all other idiotic movies. Find a word that combines moronic and malevolent. [14 July 1993, p.3F]

Utterly atrocious. It returns Andrew McCarthy, the world's most pretentious actor under 30, to the farcical lead for which he's ill-equipped, trashes a slew of West Indian religious traditions, and manages to find only one really catchy tune - Arrow's soca-syncopated "Dancin' Mood" - in a soundtrack that ought to have sizzled. [15 July 1993, p.E9]

Which brings me to another odd point: for a movie so obviously trapped in the teen-comedy formulaics of the early-to-mid-Eighties, Weekend at Bernie's II has surprisingly few nude blonde women. It is, after all, set in St. Thomas, but even this sure-fire, lowbrow interest-booster is ignored in favor of McCarthy's smarmy mug. Good lord, man, where are Golan and Globus when we need them? I could go on, but why bother? Let's just hope that this projected series of films (and I use the term loosely) dies a quiet, unremarked-upon death unlike that of its title character. Read full review

The original 1989 dead-guy farce maybe had a few laughs if you caught it on cable at one in the morning. Blind drunk. Weekend At Bernie’s II not quite that good. Read full review

As pathetic and unfunny as comedies get. In fine bait-and-switch fashion, you find out -- too late, of course -- that the movie revealed all its best gags in the TV ads and trailers. [12 July 1993, p.C5]