Short Time
Tags: violence

Plot synopsis:
Seattle detective Burt Simpson (Coleman) is a man who is so concerned about planning for the future that he cannot enjoy the present. This strains his relationship with his wife Carolyn (Teri Garr) and young son Dougie. However, this is to change when a mix-up at the hospital (caused by a bus driver who is trying to hide his recent use of marijuana) makes him believe that he has two weeks to live. Finding out that his family will only receive a small amount of money if he dies of natural causes, but will receive hundreds of thousands if he is killed in the line of duty, he determines to find a way to make that happen.
Simpson's first effort centers around a domestic disturbance call. Aware that such affairs routinely turn violent, he eagerly responds, but it turns out to be an elderly couple. One of them misheard the other because they were deaf, and a kind remark was mistaken for an insult. When the error is revealed, the two happily reconcile. A more promising situation follows, when Simpson is involved in a car chase with some fleeing suspects who happen to be gun smuggler Carl Stark's two right-hand men. Simpson's vehicle and their car wind up demolished, but no lives are lost. Simpson is awarded a medal for his bravery.
Simpson then intervenes in a hostage situation involving a crazed man with a bomb where, due largely to his newfound realization of the importance of life, he is able to convince the bomber to give himself up. Accidentally forgetting to retrieve the bomb, however, the building is blown up and he is awarded another medal.
Between these events, Simpson spends what he believes are his final days, starting to live in the here and now. He buys a red sports car, spends time with his son and reconciles with his wife. He also reveals to his partner (Matt Frewer) his genuine respect and affection for him. The latter, mystified at this strange behavior, does an investigation of his own and soon finds out what has happened, but by this time Simpson has gotten involved in a running shootout with the heavily armed Stark (Xander Berkeley). The chase ends with both of them balanced on a window washer's scaffold, high on a skyscraper. Simpson's partner reveals to him that he is not going to die, but it is apparently too late: Stark falls to his death and Simpson falls after him.
The final scene occurs at the funeral for the bus driver, who has died of his condition. Simpson is suddenly revealed as attending - out of respect for the man who "gave me back my life". A photo in his partner's possession shows what had really happened: although Simpson did fall from the scaffold, his leg became entangled in some ropes and he wound up dangling upside-down.

Review: a fun movie.
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.
A Better movie than you'd think.
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.
I think you'll like it..
Great Movie.
This is truly one of the funniest movies, I've seen.
I used to watch it several times a week.
I highly recommend this one if you like offbeat comedies.
One of the funniest things was something I didn't even notice the first three times I saw it...What you ask?
The names of the main characters...Burt and Ernie.
It's not easy getting yourself killed.
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.
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.
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.
This movie is funny from start to finish and is worth a look from any movie fan..
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..
Quality Coleman.
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.
He pulls this film up by it's bootstraps from a two to a six.
Blakespot Reviews: Short Time.
Short Time, 5/10, 23rd best movie of 1990, 332nd of the 1990s, 842nd all time I had actually really wanted to see this movie for a long time.
I had seen a preview for it when I watched some movie in high school and thought it was a good idea for a movie.
But while I was looking for something to watch at my girlfriends the other day I saw it was on show time.
It's about a Cop who finds out he has a terminal desiease.
He can collect insurance in the amount of 250,000 dollars for his family, but the thing is, he has to die on the job.
Thus he starts taking ridiculous chances on the job, but keeps accidentally succeding, and getting all these commendations for bravery when all he wants to do is get killed.
Now I thought this sounded like a very funny idea for a movie.
And while I still feel the premise was very good, the movie isn't really done very well.
There is one ridiculously funny 10 minute car chase scene which I feel shows exactly how good this movie could have been, and single-handedly bumped this movie up from a low four to a low five.
But other than that I think this movie is mostly a lot of lost potential..
With only eight days left before his retirement, Seattle police detective Burt Simpson (Dabney Coleman) is risk averse to the dismay of his partner Ernie Dills (Matt Frewer).
Their captain (Barry Corbin) isn't happy either.
Burt's blood test for his life insurance gets switched and he's told that he has only two and a half weeks to live.
His police life insurance is only good for getting killed in the line of duty.
He needs to leave money for his wife Carolyn (Teri Garr) and his young son.
He takes on the riskiest calls to get himself killed in his last week on the job.This wants to be funny with action.
With a great comedic actor in Coleman and an intriguing concept, this has good potential.
There is plenty of action but the comedy never quite gets to be funny.
Coleman is bitter for most of the movie.
The constant joke of him failing to get himself killed is limited in its effect.
Old Diplomats never die they just become bumper cars..
Great tounge-in-cheek cliche of the old cop that's about to retire and die.
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.
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.
A complete waste of time.
I did not enjoy this film at all.
Usually I like Dabney Coleman and I saw this movie for sale for only $3.99.
The premise is good, but the movie did not follow through.
I watched this movie with three other people and nobody enjoyed it at all.
It was not funny (as the cover of the movie box implies), nor heartwarming.
As Homer Simpson would say, "BO-RING!" Don't waste your time with this dull film..
It's hard to start a comedy with a violent scene involving robbery and aggravated assault, and then pepper the film with killings and violent car chases.
It's also questionable that a main plot point involves allowing someone who has only a few days to live to go without any knowledge and counseling.
If you can put all that aside, this is a funny and heart-warming film with great acting from everyone.
A little time spent taking the edge off the violence would have made this really good..
Dabney Coleman is good at lots of things, but this isn't one of them.
"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.
When I saw it, what caught my eye was that his character's name sounded like Bart Simpson.
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")..
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?
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!?.
Dark Humor Has Some Good Moments.
I found this to be a very entertaining comedy-suspense film with some wild action.Until the movie "Ronin" came out in the late '90s, the car-chase scene in this movie was the best I had ever seen on film.
It still may be the best - you have to see it to believe it!Basically, this is simply a dark humor film in which a cop, "Burt Simpson" (Coleman) deals with real - or imaginary - imminent death.Thinking he's dying, he takes ridiculous chances, actually hoping he gets killed so his kid gets insurance.
This movie needs to be out on DVD!.
funny movie.
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..
Very funny at times, still good even when it isn't funny.
Burt Simpson is an uptight, practical Seattle detective with just over a week before retirement.
He expects his son Dougie (who lives with mother Carolyn) to go to Harvard.
His partner Ernie is more easygoing and carefree and wants to go into the hot tub business.Not wanting anything to happen in his last week on the job, Burt refuses to take risks, and he lets a suspect get away--a man whose face appeared on a wanted poster he was looking at just seconds before spotting him, and a man connected with Carl Stark, whose gang hijacked a shipment of military weapons.
While he is getting tests at the doctor, Burt's blood sample is switched with that of a bus driver who smoked a joint and doesn't want to get caught.
The bus driver, as it turns out, has a terminal illness.
Burt wants to make sure his son is provided for (especially after a dream he has where the son gets into Harvard but his mother has no money to pay for it), but the only life insurance he has is a $350,000 policy that pays off only if he is killed in the line of duty.
So Burt volunteers for the most dangerous duty and takes lots of risks.
He also learns what is important in life.This movie was very funny, when it was funny.
At first it didn't seem as good in the dramatic scenes, but Dabney Coleman did so well in them that even those were good.
Matt Frewer, on the other hand, didn't give a strong enough performance as Burt's partner.
Barry Corbin made an impression as the captain.One of the biggest highlights of the entire movie was an exciting and hilarious car chase involving Carl Stark's gang.
Burt had nothing to lose, and the criminals thought he was insane.
Later, Burt's new outlook on life proved quite valuable in another risky assignment, in a well-done dramatic scene.There was some violence, but I guess no more than in a typical cop movie.
I was glad I saw a version where they cleaned up the language.This movie was a real winner.********************SPOILERS********************Burt defused a hostage situation, but he forgot to defuse the bomb!Near the end, Burt went to the hospital and found the men whose car was demolished in that car chase, and tortured them until they told him Carl Stark's whereabouts.
What followed was an edge-of-your-seat adventure involving the cop and the criminal hanging off the side of a building.
And Burt was assured, from a helicopter, that the doctor made a mistake--he's not going to die!
(Oh, yeah?) Oh, yes, we do see what happens when the bus driver starts to feel the effects of his illness.
*************************************** ***************************************    SPOILERS YOU DON"T DARE READ UNLESS YOU REALLY REALLY WANT TO*************************************** ***************************************It's a touching funeral ceremony after Burt falls off that building.
But Burt is on crutches.
His son can't understand why that bus driver was so important..
Good action movie, interesting script.
A cops wants to die but can't succeed.
Original script, the movie follows well the idea.
Although not as packed with action as a Die Hard movie, this movie has the best car chase scene perhaps in the whole movie era from 70's to 90's.
It is really a stunning car chase scene, much better than the other classics.There is no way this movie be rated so low on other review sites.
It has some humor such as the dialogue between the good and the bad guys, but by no means is this a comedy as described on some sites.
Surely Die Hard writers got inspired from this movie at some point..
Short Time.
Was hoping for an easy watching, amusing film to pass the time but got something so dull it was painful.How this falls into the comedy genre I have no idea.
Dull characters and story..
Good Action-Comedy!.
Dabney Coleman, Matt Frewer, Xander Berkeley and Teri Garr star in this 1990 action-comedy.
Coleman (9 to 5) plays Burt Simpson (No, not Bart Simpson), a veteran cop who gets misinformed that he's dying, so he tries 
getting himself killed on the job to collect on insurance for his family.
Frewer plays Burt's partner, Ernie (Ha, Bert & Ernie from Sesame Street) and Garr (Dumb & Dumber) plays Burt's ex-wife, Carolyn.
Berkeley (Terminator 2) plays dangerous criminal, Stark and Joe Pantoliano (The Goonies) & Barry Corbin (Wargames) also appear.
I've always liked this film, Coleman is great in it and he & Frewer are good together.
I recommend this good 
action-comedy.