''The Survivors'' is a 1983 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Michael Ritchie. It stars

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), '' King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

and

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

, with supporting roles by

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", "U.S. Male", " A Thi ...

Kristen Vigard Kristen Vigard (born May 15, 1963) is an American actress and singer. She is known for being the first actress to play the title role in '' Annie'' in its pre-Broadway run and for her two-year run as Morgan Richards on ''Guiding Light'' (1980–8 ...

, and James Wainwright.

Plot

The story focuses on two beleaguered New Yorkers: Donald Quinelle (Williams), a simple office worker who is fired from his job, and Sonny Paluso (Matthau), a gas station owner whose station is accidentally blown up by Donald. The two men meet in a restaurant which is promptly robbed by a man in a ski mask (Jerry Reed). Donald is shot, but Sonny gets a good look at the man. Donald is interviewed on the news, and inadvertently reveals Sonny's identity. That night the robber (named Jack Locke) visits Sonny's house in order to kill him and his teenage daughter Candice(Vigard), but Donald saves them. Sonny and Donald take Jack to the police at gunpoint. Donald has become paranoid and convinced of the imminent collapse of society. He buys several guns, leaves his girlfriend, and goes to a Vermont "survival camp" led by a man named Wes. Jack is released from jail. Sonny tries to reason with him, and Jack agrees to leave Donald and Sonny alone if they say nothing to the police. Sonny and Candice go up to the camp to tell Donald of the deal. Donald, however, is so confident of his ability to face danger that he taunts Jack into coming up to the camp for a final showdown. Donald has become a killing machine thanks to Wes' teachings. He and Jack do battle, and end in a draw. The whole group winds up in the same cabin, which the other campers surround in an attempt to kill Jack. Sonny, Candice, Jack and Donald escape in Sonny's car. The bloodthirsty campers give chase, but give up once Sonny exposes Wes as a rich businessman whose camp is a fraud. The foursome head home. Donald gets out of the car and has a breakdown, realizing how much he has lost. Sonny tries to comfort him. The two walk back to the car as friends.

Cast

as Sonny Paluso *

as Donald Quinelle *

as Jack Locke *

as Candace Paluso * James Wainwright as Wes Huntley * Skipp Lynch as Wiley * Annie McEnroe as Doreen *

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, ...

as Commando * Marian Hailey as Mrs. Locke * Joseph Carberry as Detective Matt Burke *

Meg Mundy Margaret Anne Mary Mundy (January 4, 1915 – January 12, 2016) was an English-born American actress and model. She was born in London, and in 1921, at the age of six, emigrated to the United States with her family. Personal life Mundy was born ...

as Mace Lover *

Marilyn Cooper Marilyn Cooper (December 14, 1934 – April 22, 2009) was an American actress known primarily for her work on the Broadway stage. Life and career Born in New York City, Cooper made her Broadway debut in 1956 in the chorus of '' Mr. Wonderfu ...

as Waitress

Reception

The film did not garner many positive reviews, scoring only a 9% fresh rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, based on 11 reviews. Many felt that

and

's style of humor did not mesh well together. An exception to the negative critical tide was the review that

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...

gave the film in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'': :The banner line on the ad says ' Once they declare war on each other, watch out. You could die laughing.' ''The Survivors'' isn't about two men declaring war on each other; it's about two New Yorkers without anything in common who become friends. The advertisers probably didn't know what to do with it because it's a comedy for grownups. There's a lot of unconventional humour in the writing by Michael Leeson.

' work transcends the film's flaws. He acts with an emotional purity that I can't pretend to understand. A lot of the comedy comes from his being a grownup with this ranting little kid inside him.

gives a quiet, old pro's performance.

p.15-18

State of the Art The state of the art (sometimes cutting edge or leading edge) refers to the highest level of general development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field achieved at a particular time. However, in some contexts it can also refer to a level ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Survivors, The 1983 films 1983 comedy films American comedy films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Michael Ritchie Films scored by Paul Chihara Films set in New York (state) Films shot in New York (state) Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Films set in Vermont Films shot in Vermont 1980s English-language films 1980s American films