Watching the Detectives (2007)

53% of users liked it
(31,791 ratings)

A film freak has his life turned upside down when he starts dating a real-life femme fatale in this comedy. Neil (Cillian Murphy) is a dyed-in-the-wool movie fan who runs a video store, "Gumshoe Video," specializing in classic film noir and offbeat cult items. Neil spends nearly every evening on the… More A film freak has his life turned upside down when he starts dating a real-life femme fatale in this comedy. Neil (Cillian Murphy) is a dyed-in-the-wool movie fan who runs a video store, "Gumshoe Video," specializing in classic film noir and offbeat cult items. Neil spends nearly every evening on the couch, soaking up classic movies from the blue glow of his television; Neil's lack of a social life has not been good for his relationships with women, and his latest girlfriend walked out on him after he declared he wanted her to be more like Katharine Ross in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. But then Neil meets Violet (Lucy Liu), a sexy and adventurous woman who is immediately taken with him. However, Neil soon decides Violet may be a bit too adventurous -- while he's content to get his excitement from watching movies, she would rather throw herself into thrilling situations rather than observe them from a distance, and her appetite for danger proves to be far more than he bargained for. Watching the Detectives was the first directorial effort from Paul Soter, who as a member of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe helped write the films Super Troopers and Beerfest. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 33 min.
Directed By: Paul Soter
Written By: Paul Soter
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: May 1, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Aug 12, 2008

Critic Reviews

Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Even mega-fans of either of the headliners will have trouble muddling through it.
Marlow Stern, Manhattan Movie Magazine
It looks like it's back to doling out parking tickets and shotgunning booze for Mr. Soter, and I think Cillian's probably learned a valuable career lesson here as well.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Morgan S

I loved this movie!!! I want may boyfriends to be like Cillian Murphys character!! love love love. I think this is Luci Lus best performance. She is so quirky and fun. There is never a dull moments in this cute and fresh film.
Conner R

This was so funny. Cilllian Murphy was so great as a gullable pathetic guy. Lucy Lui, well, how do I put it, her character probably tops Clementine in Eternal Sunshine. She was so incredibly lovable in every way. The movie was full of Hilarius shots of Cillian Murphy crying and… More
This was so funny. Cilllian Murphy was so great as a gullable pathetic guy. Lucy Lui, well, how do I put it, her character probably tops Clementine in Eternal Sunshine. She was so incredibly lovable in every way. The movie was full of Hilarius shots of Cillian Murphy crying and dressing up like old movie characters that would be worth watching on its own. The plot is great though. You never quite know what's going on, not even until the credits role, which was really interesting. I also loved that this is a movie for movie lovers with countless references to cult classics. It gets so hardcore that it brings up the question of which Invasion of the Body Snatchers is better, priceless.
Luke B

As a huge fan of the Broken Lizard boys it was nice to see one of them break free as a director on a completely different style of film. The laugh out loud moments have been replaced by scenes that inspire quiet quirky giggles. It's a nice enough romantic comedy, but the quirky… More
As a huge fan of the Broken Lizard boys it was nice to see one of them break free as a director on a completely different style of film. The laugh out loud moments have been replaced by scenes that inspire quiet quirky giggles. It's a nice enough romantic comedy, but the quirky girl thing has been done too much of late. The film juggles it's message uncomfortably, and soon just becomes a repetitive cycle, with bluff after bluff after bluff. It's an easy watch and one that has enough entertainment value in it's 90 minutes to justify a watch.
Lewis C

Watching the Detectives is a quirky movie for movie fans. It's not incredibly original, but it does put a nerdy spin on a well-worn concept. I mainly wanted to see this because Lucy Liu is in it, and she was by far the most interesting part. Cillian Murphy was ok, but he just… More
Watching the Detectives is a quirky movie for movie fans. It's not incredibly original, but it does put a nerdy spin on a well-worn concept. I mainly wanted to see this because Lucy Liu is in it, and she was by far the most interesting part. Cillian Murphy was ok, but he just seems more suited for more antagonistic roles. This is basically just a boy-meets-crazy-unique-girl with a film buff twist. Watching the Detectives has a few very funny parts, and it ends before its gimmick gets stale. Lucy Liu fans should give it a try.
Michael G

Watching the Detectives is a movie that was made about 10 years too late as it seems better suited for the mid-90s independent shitstorm that Mirimax seemed solely responsible for. Cillian Murphy is an indie video store owner and Lucy Liu is a cute, headfucking wackadoo who shakes up… More
Watching the Detectives is a movie that was made about 10 years too late as it seems better suited for the mid-90s independent shitstorm that Mirimax seemed solely responsible for. Cillian Murphy is an indie video store owner and Lucy Liu is a cute, headfucking wackadoo who shakes up his life that's content to v be viewed as a spectator sport. This movie plays out like a 90-minute episode of Dharma and Greg with slightly more street cred but the contrived wackiness of Lucy Liu's character just annoyed me incredibly. Remember in Burn After Reading the bad date movie Frances McDormand keeps seeing? "Come down from there!" "No, you come up here!" Yeah, this movie has that scene. But the scene that murdered this terminal case of a movie was the concert that Murphy had in his garage was awful and I was embarrassed watching it. Ultimately, Watching the Detectives doesn't seem to have anything to say, doesn't know how to say it and takes way too long in doing so.
Tim S

A cute and clever film about a film geek who falls for the girl of his dreams in the most unusual way...that's it in a nutshell. A good strong cast and a cute story, however I felt they pushed Lucy Liu's character a bit over the edge into "I hate this person"… More
A cute and clever film about a film geek who falls for the girl of his dreams in the most unusual way...that's it in a nutshell. A good strong cast and a cute story, however I felt they pushed Lucy Liu's character a bit over the edge into "I hate this person" terrirtory. Even with the happy ending, I still dislike her for all the shit she puts this guy through just to relate to him. Cillian is great, as always, and the supporting cast gets pushed back quite a bit, along with backstory or character development, leaving very little to support. However, the film shines at its' geekiness, cuteness and just good wholesome fun. A fun date movie that doesn't really let you down.
Lorenzo v

This film is about a film geek (Cillian Murphy) who falls in love with a girl (Lucy Liu) who is always up for an adventure. It is the classic romance story of a "tight-as-a-belt" man meets "raunchy, raucous yet cute and cuddly" woman and they consequently falls in… More
This film is about a film geek (Cillian Murphy) who falls in love with a girl (Lucy Liu) who is always up for an adventure. It is the classic romance story of a "tight-as-a-belt" man meets "raunchy, raucous yet cute and cuddly" woman and they consequently falls in love with each other and live happily ever after. What made saw this film is Cillian Murphy. I have never seen him in a comedy before and then I went to see this to see if he has the acting chops for romantic comedies. We have always seen him in dark, brooding thrillers and it is always good to see these character actors to try out new roles and Cillian Murphy just proved here that he is a versatile actor. From the apocalyptic zombie epic "28 Days Later", his villainous turn as Scarecrow in "Batman Begins" and the Danny Boyle sci-fi "Sunshine" to this: A light hearted comedy about finding love in the most weirdest of ways. I hope to see more of him in the future. Be it a dark thriller or a comedy, count me in. The plot is somewhat familiar but it all worked out in the end. It was cute but at some points in the film the cutesy-factor went overboard for me. Lucy Liu was okay as the leading lady although her character was a bit annoying at times. But you know, like I said, it all worked out in the end. Its cuteness got me. 3 and a half stars.