Opened: May 1, 2007

Directed by: Paul Soter

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Lucy Liu, Jason Sudeikis, Michael Panes, Heather Burns, Callie Thorne, Michael Yurchak, Josh Pais, Brett Gelman, Mark Harelik, Ali Reza, Steve Lemme, Eik Stolhanske, Paul Soter, Richard Waddingham, Ed Eck & Paul Scheer

There’s nothing predictable about Watching the Detectives and the tone of the film is all over the place, but there’s something charming about Cillian Murphy and Lucy Liu’s romance.

Neil (Murphy) owns a struggling video store and has a boring life when Violet (Liu) comes in one day to rent a film. They later agree to a date and Violet’s energy is more than Neil bargained for. She may take things to far, but that might be what he needs.

Violet continually creates scenes that Neil doesn’t realize he’s in based on movies. It’s cringey to watch at times and they’re always over-the-top, but it’s fun and different from most of the rom-com tropes you might see.

Murphy proves he can play happy and romantic while Liu is unafraid to push her boundaries.

Final say: What are we watching? ★★★☆☆