''Surrender'' is a 1987 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 ...

that was written and directed by

Jerry Belson Jerry Belson (July 8, 1938 – October 10, 2006) was a writer, director, and producer of Hollywood films for over 40 years. Career Belson's writing credits include the Steven Spielberg films '' Always'' and ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', ...

. It stars

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film F ...

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including '' Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', '' Three Men a ...

Peter Boyle Peter Lawrence Boyle (October 18, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American actor. Known as a character actor, he played Frank Barone on the CBS sitcom '' Everybody Loves Raymond'' and the comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof ''Youn ...

, Iman, and

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...

in his final film role.

Plot

Sean Stein is a successful

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

ist, but after two divorces and a palimony suit, he now believes women only have loved him for his money. At a charity ball where armed thieves order guests to strip, he is bound nude to a commercial artist named Daisy Morgan. He is immediately attracted to her. Daisy is in a rather rocky relationship with Marty, a whiny, unstable

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

who is afraid to make a commitment. Sean does not know she already has a well-off boyfriend, but he decides to play a little trick to win her. With the help of his lawyer, Jay Bass, he pretends to be a poor failure to see if she will love him for himself. As their relationship develops, he ultimately decides to reveal his true self. But on that very day, Marty persuades Daisy that he is a changed man and that they should live together in his home. Sean is heartbroken. On moving day, Daisy accidentally sees a newspaper clipping that reveals Sean's true identity. She demands an explanation, which she accepts, telling him she realized that he is who she truly loves. However, he wonders if she only decided this after reading the article about his success and seeing his

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

home. She lies. They elope to

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake ...

to be married. On the way, Sean urges her to sign a

prenuptial agreement A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement (commonly referred to as a prenup), is a written contract entered into by a couple prior to marriage or a civil union that enables them to select and control many of the leg ...

. She thinks it's "unromantic" but concedes. In a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, gambling by herself, she then miraculously hits a jackpot on a slot machine, winning two million dollars. Sean returns to say he has had a change of heart and requires no prenup. Now it is Daisy who wants to know when exactly he decided this. She admits lying to him before. Marty shows up and begs her to return to him. Sean says, "You can have her." Back in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, realizing she has made a mistake, Daisy rejects a proposal of marriage and pays off Marty for his trouble with some of her casino winnings. A disturbed Sean spots a prostitute who robbed him. He decides to avenge himself against women in general by bringing the prostitute to his home and robbing her. He turns out to be a

transvestite Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western ...

. Daisy suddenly bursts in and wants to marry him again, throwing all of her remaining casino winnings at him. The prostitute picks up his gun and sees the pile of cash, but generously says, "I'll only take cab fare."

Cast

as Daisy Morgan *

as Sean Stein *

as Marty *

as Jay *

as Ace Morgan, Daisy's father *

Julie Kavner Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an American actress. Best known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', Kavner first attracted notice for her role as Brenda Morgenstern, the younger ...

as Ronnie *

Louise Lasser Louise Marie Lasser (born April 11, 1939) is an American actress, television writer, and performing arts teacher and director. She is known for her portrayal of the title character on the soap opera satire ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.'' She was ...

as Joyce * Iman as Hedy

Filming

Much of the film was shot in

Stateline, Nevada Stateline is a census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as th ...

in November 1986.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Surrender (Film) 1987 films 1987 comedy films 1987 LGBT-related films Films about writers Golan-Globus films Transgender-related films Films directed by Jerry Belson Films with screenplays by Jerry Belson Films scored by Michel Colombier American LGBT-related films LGBT-related comedy films Warner Bros. films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films