Watching the Detectives (2007)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Paul Soter

Writer:

Paul Soter (written by)

Release Date:

11 September 2008 (Russia)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes love is stranger than fiction

Plot:

A film noir buff has his life turned on end by a femme fatale with a big adventure in mind.

Plot Keywords:

Film Geek | Tied To Chair | Quirky | Prank | Male Rear Nudity

Cast

Cillian Murphy	...	Neil
Lucy Liu	...	Violet
Jason Sudeikis	...	Jonathan
Michael Panes	...	Lucien
Callie Thorne	...	Marcia
Michael Yurchak	...	Buddy
Heather Burns	...	Denise
Mark Harelik	...	Detective Barloe
Ali Reza	...	Detective Lowenstein
Josh Pais	...	Andy
Brett Gelman	...	Glenn
Lonny Ross	...	Eager Customer
Paul Scheer	...	Annoying Customer
Richard Waddingham	...	Dennis - Bald Giant
J. T. O'Connor	...	Bald Creep

Runtime:

Poland:90 min (DVD version) | USA:91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (one scene) | Color

Certification:

Germany:6 | USA:Not Rated | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Plum Pictures

Trivia:

The title of the film is taken from a 1977 Elvis Costello song, from the album "My Aim Is True".

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Violet says she doesn't have a driver's license, but she still manages to drive a car to Neil's house. However, she may have told Neil that she didn't have a driver's license just to see how he'd react, just like almost everything else she did to him.

Movie Connections:

References Dracula (1931)

Soundtrack:

OLD SCHOOL STREETS

many great laughs in a shallow pond

This is an original movie with some amazingly funny and surprising moments, some preposterously bad acting and action, and a premise and resolution that really strains the imagination. Plus some very very good lines. It's a movie that plays, rather joyously, at 'being dumb' (Lucy Liu's nipple pops out of her dress and remains there for a whole scene) but creates hysterical situations and carries them off thru the sheer pleasure of Murphy's enthusiasm. Liu's athleticism is on subtle display and it is pretty amazing. It also has two of the best rock and roll moments I've ever seen in films; one, a great indie band in a club running thru the heart riff of a unique song and two, a highly produced backyard karaoke performance that perfectly resolves the needs of the film's moment. The ending is kind of forced but to come up with a real resolution of this story would take a writer of true genius. Summary: not so good, but you can't find this many laughs of this quality very easily. A must-see for a totally non-serious I-don't-know-what-to-do-today day.