This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The acting in this movie is really good.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Young upper management executive Donald (Williams) gets canned as part of a restructuring. With his mind occupied by he quite accidentally leaves a sizable gasoline spill outside a petrol station/auto shop just before its crotchety old proprietor Sonny (Mathau) tosses a stale cancer stick. After that Sonny no longer owns a petrol station/auto shop. Neither man really sees the other or knows what really happened.These suddenly desperate sadsacks converge on the local unemployment office whilst Jack (Reed) - one other more desperate yet decidedly more volatile individual is also there. At a nearby diner, while Donald and Sonny are sulking after a miserable day at the mercy of the federal bureaucracy, Jack shows up with a loaded gun and tries to rob the place. Jack has been pushed too far which results in his pushing Donald and Sonny too far. They foil the robbery but Donald is shot. Jack easily orchestrates his getaway.Becoming cause celebres for their daring good in the incident will doesn't help Donald or Sonny. The media ridicules them. Worse, Jack gets their names from the news reports and goes hunting after them as Sonny struggles through odd jobs and Donald alienates his fiancé by going to live at a survivalist camp. Tracking Donald to the camp by threatening Sonny, Jack is determined to finally silence both of the odd couple friends. Donald - exhilarated by the whole experience craves a final confrontation.The film starts quite well to hook the viewer but most of the truly funny material is to be found at the beginning. By the middle it lags and lingers as gaping plot holes remain. The final thirty minutes are mostly unwatchable in the run-up to a nonsensical conclusion. They appeared to be looking for absolutely anything with which they could fashion a satisfactory conclusion for the final cut.

I love to read the reviews of this movie talking about how there are plot holes and the movie lacks direction and on, and on, and on. The Austin Powers movies have plot holes a plenty and virtually no direction or underlying 'ah-ha's...but they're still really funny. The one liners in this movie are classic Robin Williams and him and Walter Matthau play off each other really well. Throw in Jerry Reed and you have a party. If you're looking for something with plot and direction and some underlying meaning, this is not your movie. If you just want some good laughs in a corny comedy filled with some really great one-liners, this is right up there with the Austin Powers movies. Just don't go into it expecting to see something like Schindlers List and you'll be fine. For all the haters out there...lighten up! Stress'll kill ya!

"The Survivors" is characteristic of Robin Williams's movies before "Good Morning, Vietnam": innocuously silly. In this case, he and Walter Matthau join up after surviving a robbery, and Williams becomes a survivalist. The whole thing is pretty goofy - maybe even pointless - but some of the gags make up for that. I will say that it's not the funniest movie for either star by a long shot; both have done far better than this. But, it's the sort of movie that you sit around in your underwear and watch; it does a respectable job showing both stars' talents. Good for a few laughs.Shooting a man's gun. Ha!

It seems that many people have enjoyed "The Survivors" and as a huge Walter Matthau fan I sure wanted to be one of them. "The Survivors" is a muddled mess with script problems and, most curiously, problems with the casting of its leading actors Matthau and Robin Williams. Just reading that would make you thing that the casting is inspired but it ends up working against the film. Matthau and Williams have two very distinctive styles of comedy that work against each other and that aspect is clear throughout the movie. These two appear to be starring in different movies even when they are on screen together. Director Michael Ritchie appears to have let Williams and his manic sense of humor go crazy with no attempt to reel him in to a calmer level more suitable for the film. Take a look at "The World According to Garp" where Williams worked with the great George Roy Hill to see a restrained and terrific performance. Sure some of Williams' manic comedy sneaks through there but it was at a minimum. Here Williams is all over the map which is surprising considering director Ritchie's track record of only good movies up to this point ("The Candidate", "Smile" and "The Bad News Bears" among others).Another problem with the film is the tone of the script. It wants to be satirical, farcical, and dark all at the same time. Had it stuck with just one of those tones we might have had a better movie. Perhaps a satirical look at the difficulties of big business which is suggested in a funny opening scene when Williams is fired by his boss' parrot. Or perhaps a dark comedy about two down on their luck guys who happen across a hit man, trying to stay alive or even perhaps hoping to be killed, as they get their lives in some sort of order. This is hinted at but the story falls flat with the casting of Jerry Reed as the hit man who turns out to be a likable guy. Reed never convinced me he was anything more then the Snowman with a gun waiting for Burt Reynolds. He always seems to be winking at himself and never comes off as menacing. And the last act of the film at the survivalist outing is so mundane and silly it doesn't even belong in this film."The Survivors" could have been a really special film had director Ritchie reigned in and restrained Williams some and having the script go through major overhauls instead of looking like they shot a first draft. As it now stands there are a few laughs and it's not a total waste of time but will be a huge disappointment to fans of the lead actors.