Watching the Detectives is a 2007 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Paul Soter in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Cillian Murphy as the film geek owner of an independent video rental store whose life is upended when he meets a thrill-seeking femme fatale (Lucy Liu).

Plot

Neil Lewis is the owner of the independent video store Gumshoe Video. He premieres a new, film noir-inspired commercial for Gumshoe Video. His girlfriend Denise, who appears in the commercial, does not attend the celebration. The next day, Neil meets Denise at a restaurant, but before he goes to the table, he pranks her by having a waiter spill a glass of water on her. Unamused by the prank, she tells him he needs to get his life together. He casually breaks up with her.