THE SURVIVORS
It is 1983 under the rubric of Reaganomics in New York City
when Donald (Robin Williams) and Sonny (Robert Matthau) meet.
They are both having bad days.
Donald has been fired via his boss’ parrot
and Sonny has lost his gas station via Donald.
The two encounter each other at a greasy spoon where both have gone to mull
over their respective crises.
Donald is
just explaining his ill luck to the waitress when a masked gunman, who we later
learn is named Jack (Jerry Reed), storms in and demands that the patrons remove
their clothes, a command that Sonny cannot obey because he isn’t wearing any
underwear.
When the gunman threatens to shoot Sonny if he
doesn’t disrobe, Donald jumps in and a struggle ensues that results in Donald
getting grazed by a bullet and Sonny pulling off the gunman’s mask and seeing
his face.
This probably would be the end of the matter for the two
men, except a commentator on the evening news criticizes Donald’s act as foolhardy.
Donald sees the segment while recuperating in
the hospital and wants to make a rebuttal, but Sonny, who has stopped by to
check on him, begs him to let it go.
Donald
promises that he will, and, feeling reassured, Sonny leaves.
Later that night, however, Donald goes on television
to defend his actions and reveals Sonny’s name.
Unfortunately, Jack sees the newscast and heads to Sonny’s house to kill
him.
He awakens Sonny from a sound sleep
and the two have a brief conversation where Jack explains that, rather than
being a common robber, he is a professional hitman, the person who killed Jimmy
Hoffa, and cannot afford to let Sonny identify him.
As
Jack is preparing to eliminate Sonny, however, Donald shows up at the house.
He recognizes Jack’s voice, hears Sonny’s
bedroom door open, and lies in wait.
When
Jack appears holding Sonny at gunpoint, Donald sneaks up behind him and knocks him
out.
Sonny tries to call 911 for help,
but is put on hold, so, the two decide to take Sonny’s would-be assassin to the
police station.
After a very tense
exchange between Donald and the cops, they turn Jack over to the police and
walk away convinced that the criminal’s identity will be uncovered, and everything
will turn out okay.
As Sonny and Donald are driving back to the house, Donald
insists on being dropped off at a gun store where he buys an arsenal of weapons
and signs up for a survivalist camp run by a man named Wes.
The next time we see the two men, Donald is
living in the camp learning how to prevail when civilization bites the dust and
Sonny is driving a cab for a living.
It looks
as though their lives have gotten back to normal until Sonny picks up a fare
one night and finds himself, once again, face-to-face with Jack, who is out on
bail.
To keep from being killed, Sonny
promises to have Donald swear he will never reveal that Jack is a hitman.
He heads
to Wes’ camp and explains the situation to Donald, who agrees to do what Sonny
asks; but, instead, Donald calls Jack and threatens him, causing Sonny’s
perfect plan to fall apart.
I won’t
spoil the ending by divulging anymore, so I’ll just conclude by saying that this
movie is a fun ride. It portrays the impact the economic downturn in the 1980s
had on middle and working class Americans with satirical humor.
Robin Williams, Walter Matthau, and Jerry
Reed are spot on in delivering hilarious performances and Kristen Vigard, who
plays Sonny’s daughter, Candace, is truly a delight to watch.
The film, which can be viewed for free if you
are an Amazon Prime member, is edgy and funny.
So, if you are in the mood to laugh, give it a glance.
And, until next time, enjoy a flick or two.
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