Short Time (1990)

"Short Time" has an interesting premise but could have gotten played out better. Dabney Coleman (the boss in "9 to 5" and the computer scientist in "WarGames") plays a Seattle detective who tries to commit suicide so that his family can collect the indemnity. It starts off OK but peters out before too long. When I saw it, what caught my eye was that his character's name sounded like Bart Simpson. Other than that, there wasn't much memorable. A better Seattle-set comedy from 1990 was Lawrence Kasdan's "I Love You to Death", in which the wife (Tracey Ullman) of a philandering pizzeria owner (Kevin Kline) keeps trying to kill him.Also starring Teri Garr (Inga in "Young Frankenstein"), Matt Frewer (Russell Sr. in "Honey I Shrunk the Kids"), Barry Corbin (the general in "WarGames") and Joe Pantoliano (Cypher in "The Matrix").

i thought this was a great movie. i am not a big dabney coleman fan but he was funny in this.the idea of the movie is that dabney coleman is a cop who is getting close to retirement. he is very careful, doesn't swear, eats healthy food and doesn't like to chase criminals if it puts himself in danger at all, especially now that he is so close to retirement.but then he has a regular checkup with his doctor and discovers that he has a rare disease that can't be cured. he worries about his ex-wife and child so he checks out his insurance and finds out that they only get a huge payout on his life insurance if he dies on the job. so obviously he ends up all of a sudden taking huge risks like getting into car chases, fighting on the side of a building, confronting a maniac with a bomb, etc.his partner is very funny too. this is a great comedy.

Let me start out by repeating what has been stated before, it is very much Dabney Coleman who single handedly saves this film from mediocrity. He is truly an actor to pay attention to whenever he utters anything in his films, no matter what it is he's saying, you care. He's a decent, morally strong gentleman, and that's rare, folks.Here, he plays laid back and up-tight police detective Burt Simpson, only days away from retiring. He's paranoid about taking risks and doing anything to risk being killed. When he goes to the doctor for a routine examination, a complication arises that leads him to believe he only has about 2 or 3 weeks to live. Then, as he's getting his final affairs in order, he finds out that his wife (Terry Garr) and young son can only collect on his insurance if he gets killed in the line of duty.He hasn't got much time to waste, so Burt requests double duty in the worst part of the city, much to the dismay of his wiseass partner Ernie (pitch-perfectly played by Matt Frewer) who doesn't know what the hell is going on with his partner. Burt spends the next few days acting like a supercop, trying desperately to get killed by any means necessary! The show stopper, hands down, is an extended car chase through Seattle with Burt in relentless hot pursuit of another car carrying a couple of real scumbags. Burt comes after them with the determination of Robocop, and what ensues is the fastest, funniest and most frantic car chase ever captured on film! Indeed, when it's all over, their is nothing left of Burt's car but four wheels, a steering column, the engine and a seat! And of course, Burt himself with only a few minor scratches, why? Because he neglected to un-buckle his seat belt! DOAH!! Now, this isn't to say that the film is all fun and games, their are a few very poignant scenes with Burt that might bring a tear to your eye, especially the confessions he makes to his estranged wife about how he feels about her. Another is a scene in a convenience store where a man has taken hostages, Burt strolls in wearing only his boxer shorts and t-shirt and proceeds to have a truly moving heart to heart chat with the disturbed gunman.Deftly mixing action, humor, drama and a serious message about taking stock in one's life before it's to late, Short Time delivers. It's a simple little film that got no attention, but in my experience, those often are the one's that stay with you. See it.And BTW, where the hell is this film on DVD!?

Great tounge-in-cheek cliche of the old cop that's about to retire and die. But let's give some credit to his metalic co-star. The little Diplomat that could. It takes a beating and keeps on ticking like a combination of a Timex, the Enegizer Bunny and the Mustang from gone in 60 Seconds. Oh And throw in a little bit of the Blues Brothers Dodge for good measure. What a car! If you like to see old police cars get put through the ringer and come out the other side no worst for wear also check out, Gator, Greased Lighting and Ripper