**Revising, after MANY more viewings. **
A delightful pilot that could've led to a truly classic series.
This is a charming story of three friends, who are also cops, and are left millions by a grateful victim in a kidnapping case. They retire and live the lives they've always dreamed of. But being a plain old millionaire can be boring for former police officers. So they come up with a way to stay in the game of fighting the bad guys; and it's one heck of a game.
Officially they are private detectives, who take on the more bizarre and challenging murder cases, as long as they can find some distant relative of the victim who is willing to pay their standard fee...of a dollar.
The catch is, they not only combat the baddies, but they also compete against each other to see who can solve the case first. And the stakes are high. For what each one will lose if they don't solve it first, the other two consult to take something particularly precious (Ted Wass' character almost ends up losing some priceless baseball cards).
The chemistry between Wass, Post, and Swanson is fabulous. You really believe they are the best of friends. And as is often the case, the guys are just a touch in love with Post's character, and who wouldn't be. She's tough, fun and feminine; and who wouldn't adore a woman who's also a con artist and card shark. Swanson is perfect as the gruff tough old-school cop, and Wass is absolutely adorable as the more sensitive guy with a BIG yen for baseball.
I really think this could've been a hilarious series, because the movie/pilot was brilliant (not perfect but so full of potential). If you ever have a chance to see this film, I'd recommend it. It's a fun romp, and the short monologues by the characters in between scenes are very funny.