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.

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.

As another user has said, this is some of Coleman's best work. An overlooked film for a bland plot and story, this film gives Coleman a place to shine. To be sure, the acting of the others is very good, as well, and they deserve credit for a job well done, but this is obviously his film. I spotted this film on network television and I usually avoid films with commercial interruptions, but I like DC and gave it a shot for him. I am very glad that I did. He pulls this film up by it's bootstraps from a two to a six. 6 of 10

I first saw this movie First Choice (at the time Canada's HBO) in the early 90's and immediately fell in love with it. Now in my mid 30's I have been lucky enough to find it on DVD to add to my collection. I am very happy as I understand that it is a hard to find DVD and I stumbled across it on amazon one day.

If you are lucky enough to be able to view this movie on DVD or on cable or whatever, have a look. I think just about anybody could enjoy this film as it is able to be very entertaining without being overly vulgar or violent.

This is a funny story about a cop who's physical results are mixed up with another patient and he is told that he is going to die in a short time. He then finds out that his life insurance only pays out if he dies on the job. You can imagine where it goes from there. This movie is funny from start to finish and is worth a look from any movie fan.