Scene of the Week: Short Time

There are several things I like about the 1990 action comedy film Short Time. I could probably start and end with the fact that it stars Dabney Coleman. It is great to see a character actor get a chance to be the lead hero in a movie and doubly great when it is successful. Coleman’s police officer character is named Burt Simpson which is extremely close to name of the rebellious son in The Simpsons. Burt’s partner on the force is named Ernie, which brings up memories of the cop and taxi driver in It’s a Wonderful Life or probably more likely the good friends in Sesame Street.

And of course one of the biggest reasons I enjoy Short Time is for the top notch car chase. For a little background, after Burt is told he only has a few weeks to live he learns that his family will receive a substantially larger life insurance payout if he dies in the line of duty. What is bad for Burt, is good for the audience, as Burt throws away any fears and goes all out super cop in order to provide for his family. This week’s scene shows Burt driving without regard for his life in order to stop the criminals and it has every car chase cliche imaginable which fit perfectly in the action comedy film Short Time.