The Darwin Awards

Michael Burrows works as a profiler for the San Francisco police, but his aversion to the sight of blood costs him the job after a serial killer slips through his hands. He takes a position as an investigator for an insurance company, where he is paired with Siri Taylor, a claims researcher. Together they look into suspicious and unusual deaths, among them accidents so foolish that they resemble candidates for the Darwin Awards, the tongue-in-cheek honors given to people who remove themselves from the gene pool in spectacularly ill-advised ways. Michael's fascination with the awards shapes how he approaches the cases, while Siri brings a more grounded view of the work, and their travels across the country bring the two closer.

Finn Taylor wrote and directed the film, his first feature, followed chronologically by The Optimist. Joseph Fiennes and Winona Ryder lead the cast as Michael and Siri, with David Arquette, Juliette Lewis, Ty Burrell and Josh Charles among the supporting players; the credited cast runs to 56 names. Jason Blum, Jane Sindell and Johnny Wow produced, with Blumhouse Productions, Icon Productions and 3 Ring Circus Films behind the project.

Released in 2007, the film runs 94 minutes and mixes adventure, comedy and romance. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.9 from roughly 11,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 5.5 from 188 votes; a critics' rating of 5.9 rests on 12 reviews. Audience and critics' scores therefore land close together, suggesting a modest reception across the board.