Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The acting in this movie is really good.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

This movie does it all: entertains, sickens, confuses, enlightens, disappoints, enrages, delights... You get a young, burgeoning Robin Williams at the height of his cocaine abuse, a poorly-aged and dangerously arthritic Walter Matthau whose acting conjures past greatness ("Charade") and the effervescent Jerry Reed, at the peak of his career and in full, self-confident stride after the monumental success of the "Smokey" series and "Highballin" (won two awards at Cannes and a Gay and Lesbian Film Alliance Honor). Not sure why this movie is listed a comedy. I sob uncontrollably every time I watch it, which is nine times a week since 1996. Simply put, Reed's character "Jack" steals the show. His role would've been bigger but rumor has it that he made ridiculous demands while on set. Apparently, he had in his contract dodo-egg omelets at every meal and nobody on set can utter his name. Towards the end of filming, he attacked Robin William's publicist with a samurai sword. Needless to say, the man is our new Lord and this movie is his Testament....

I've seen this movie dozens of times, mostly because of some of the funniest dialogue ever written, and mostly when I was younger and the uneven story, problematic direction and distracting editing were more easily over-looked. Rewatching it tonight, I can still see a good movie in there, somewhere, but the uneven bits and long stretches of not-funny really stand out. In particular, the very last five minutes of the film ruin the rest; a bit like heartburn or food poisoning after a tasty meal.Someone should remake this movie. It would be a shame for the great moments of dialogue to be lost gems within this average and uneven whole.

There was bound to be a movie like this in the early 1980s, a time of the Cold War, recession and survivalists. Walter Matthau plays Sonny Paluso, an ex-filling station operator. Kristen Vigard plays his teenage daughter Candice. Robin Williams plays Donald Quinelle. Donald and Sonny become friends. Donald gets put in the hospital. Donald says that being in the hospital makes him think about God. Donald gets fed up with modern civilization. Donald goes to a survivalist camp, even mushing sled dogs. Sonny goes to the camp with Candice to convince Donald that he is overreacting. The movie has a "happy ending" that seems somewhat phony. Perhaps that is why the movie is seldom shown.

I'll fore-go the plot summary and rantings of the usual Hollywood critic and cut straight to what this movie is all about...Comedy with a capital C. From the very beginning of the movie when Donald Quinelle(Robin Williams) is fired by a parrot (A. Parrot). It appears as though the economy has gone into the toilet and "society is coming undone like a cheap suit" as we later hear Donald say. Walter Matthau is excellent as Williams' straight man in this movie that precedes "Falling Down" by about a decade. Where the main character in "Falling Down" makes us feel sorry for him because of his misfortune, "The Survivors", namely Robin Williams and Walter Matthau as Soony Paluso, doesn't get our sympathy because we know they're going to get through their trials as they have good humor and good friendship. The movie deals with real issues like unemployment and a failing economy. There is even a subplot that involves a militia movement that feeds on the fears that Donald Quinelle is experiencing. It is all done in fun, as Donald and Sonny run from the bad guy (Jerry Reed) who is not the hit man he makes himself out to be.I saw this movie when it was originally released in '83 with some friends of mine and now 22 years later, we still quote this movie. It is definitely a hidden treasure and why it didn't get great reviews is a mystery to me. There is one scene that may have been a detriment to the success of this film, although I cannot imagine why...In the first act,When Donald is in his hospital bed and gown recovering from the robber's gunshot wound, there is a brief instant when he is watching the news editorial on the hospital TV regarding his own "dumbluck", he turns his backside toward the television and shows his backside to the TV. We don't see his bare backside, however, as he returns to his original position in the hospital bed, Donald reveals a little more of himself under his hospital gown than we bargain for. I think that one got by the editor, but the sack is there for all to see. Not a big deal, but should have been caught by someone other than us, the audience. I highly recommend renting "The Survivors". I bought it on VHS about five years ago after looking for it for several years, and I still watch it once in a while, particularly when I need a good laugh because it seems like the world is coming apart like a cheap suit at times.