Short Time

This movie is plain, simple, fun. It doesn't leave you breathless with suspense, or on the edge of your seat with your heart pounding. But for those who don't enjoy all the smut, violence, and potty mouth movies we've been inundated with in the past several years, its a winner. Dabney Coleman plays the part well. First, he is soon to retire from police work, and understandably doesn't want to risk his neck and lose it just before he retires. However, this all changes when he is told he has just a short time to live. Wanting nothing more than to leave his family some security, he begins his unsuccessful quest to get himself killed on the job, only to find out its harder than he thought it would be. This is a movie that does not require anyone to swim through the gray area of a controversial issue. It's just plain entertaining.

A police detective learns he is dying from a disease and decides to get himself killed in the line of duty so his wife and son can receive a handsome sum of money upon his demise. But getting himself killed is way harder than he thought. Although the film slows way too much down in the second half and gets overly sentimental there's more than a fair share of laughs to compensate. Dabney Coleman is terrific as usual and the rest of the cast support him well. Well worth catching.

Burt Coleman is a police officer who is about to retire and is of course extra careful to prevent anything from happening to him before then, that all changes when he is accidentally diagnosed with a terminal illness during a routine check-up at the hospital and he wrongly thinks he only has a few days to live.

However, for the payment of his police life insurance he has to die in service so he takes all the risks and takes on the most dangerous police tasks to ensure that his family can collect the insurance money.

Often more drama than humor but the humor moments are entertaining.

Otherwise a somewhat different buddy cop film with some spectacular chases but not too exaggerated.

Terri garr is as always good casted as his wife.

Dabney Coleman plays a cop getting into his "short time" just before retirement. Knowing what we do about police movies, we understand why he's careful and plays it safe. During a routine blood test, he finds out he has a terminal disease and his insurance will only pay out to his estranged wife and son if he dies in the line of duty. From that setup, we get a marvelous performance by Coleman. Matt Frewer as his new partner is wonderful as well. Everyone gives a solid performance here, even Coleman's unmarked cruiser in a amazing chase sequence. If you happen to see this one coming up on TV, give it a try. I think you'll like it.

What can I say that has not already been said. This is a 1990 film that stands up well even today, in fact I'm surprised it has never been remade by the likes of Stallone or Willis. It's a genuinely funny movie with quite a straight forward story line. No bad languages or unnecessary nudety, just well written and brilliantly acted comic situations that support the movies main premise. Hard to find but really worth watching, a must see.