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.

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.

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!?

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. Naturally, the captain is furious. 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. I was exhausted afterward from laughing. 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.