In THE SURVIVORS, Robin Williams and Walter Matthau team up to take on a professional hit-man, at least at first. This film actually makes fun of survivalists which, while relying heavily on stereotypes, is still quite funny. The story, though, is predicated on a series of coincidences which makes the whole thing seem set up to make a point. And while things never get preachy, there are a few moments that might have you rolling your eyes a bit, but then it returns to the laughs. Even though this is one of Robin Williams' lesser comedies, he and Walter Matthau make a fine comic team who play nicely off of the other. There isn't too much in the way of character building, but I didn't honestly expect too much of that in this type of movie. The pacing is pretty good, keeping things moving along at a nice clip, until the final act which was a bit bloated. It isn't until the final moments that a switch-a-roo of sorts is made in terms of who the villain is, and calculated to drive home the message of the film, that is, survivalists are all crazy, deluded gun nuts. While this might be true to an extent, this still doesn't excuse reframing the hit-man as just another victim of an "economy in the toilet" (to borrow a phrase from the film). This just seemed odd to me, and somewhat misguided. Still, the farcical nature of the film makes it hard to take seriously, but in the end I quite enjoyed it. Great? No, but it's a decent watch.

"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!

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.

The Survivors is not one of Robin Williams' best films, but it is worth watching, and thinking about. The beginning keeps you guessing about what kind of film it is - Robin Williams' character, Donald, is fired from his job, and we have a few comments about the Social Security system. Then suddenly he foils a robbery, together with Walter Matthau (Sonny).The two characters go in different directions - Sonny tries to make a deal with the robber to leave them alone, while Donald goes to Vermont to join a survivalist community. Each try to deal with the villain in their own way.The film suffers from sentimentality and moralism, like most of Williams' films, but it has humour and a good insight into the paranoia of American society.