A cute whodunit in the old folks home.

While Hulu gives us “Only Murders in the Building and while Rian Johnson gives us “Knives Out” and “Poker Face,” Netflix gives us the whodunit movie “The Thursday Murder Club.” Only, it’s set in a retirement home in England, it’s based on Richard Osman’s book, and Chris Columbus (“Home Alone,” “Mrs. Doubtfire”) directs it. I think it works as a cute sleuth movie with such excellent and ageless leads Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley, and I’m glad I caught my mother watching it on her couch.

We meet Elizabeth (Mirren), Ron (Brosnan), and Ibrahim (Kingsley), three retirees at the Cooper’s Chase retirement home, who welcome a new member-Joyce (Celia Imrie)-to their whodunit club known as “The Thursday Murder Club.” In their personal aspects; Elizabeth was a spy and is now married to the celebrated author and dementia-stricken Stephen (Jonathan Pryce), Ibrahim was a psychiatrist helping PTSD-stricken war vets, Ron was a trade unionist with the nickname Red Ron, and Joyce was a nurse. So, all of them make a dream team.

And when the Cooper’s Chaser co-owner Tony Curran (Geoff Bell) has been murdered, it’s up to the Thursday Murder Club to turn their weekly whodunit game into a reality. That means there’s no crying or dramatic score; just “Disco Inferno” preparing them to take action. Now, that’s a nice touch, given the choice of genre.

We have a list of suspects and law enforcers in the mix.

There’s another co-owner-the greedy Ian Venthan (David Tennent), who plans to turn the retirement home into luxury flats and event spaces. It would be too obvious if he was revealed as the killer, but I’m glad the movie doesn’t make that approach. He also has a Polish immigrant assistant named Bogdan (Henry-Lloyd Hughes), who is more well-meaning than Ian is, obviously.

We also get Naomi Ackie as the local PC Donna dr Freitas, and Daniel Mays as the DCI Chris Hudson. One of them reluctantly agrees to share info with Elizabeth, while the other has good tastes in desserts. Tom Ellis plays Ron’s celebrity son Jason Ritchie, who seems to be in quite a hurry at certain moments. And Richard E. Gant appears near the end (I can’t say why, but he is a virtuoso actor).

“The Thursday Murder Club” isn’t at the “Knives Out” level in terms of its ending and pacing, which shouldn’t feel rushed. But the pieces of this puzzle do fit, and the actors are able to have fun with their characters while trying to take the case seriously. It’s something that Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez are pulling off successfully in “Only Murders in the Building.”

And I almost forgot that Chris Columbus is the director of this movie, and if you feel the sweetness and energy of “The Thursday Murder Club,” you might be reminded of his work before the 2010s. It might take you back to the good old days, or it might make you only focus on Mirren, Brosnan, Kingsley, and Imrie, and the real murder mystery they’re trying to solve. I think that’s what I’ve been more focused on.

The movie chooses not to be irritating or stereotypical with the characters, but rather sweet and honest with a hint of whimsy. And I like how it sometimes pokes fun at abbreviations like “WTF” or “PDF” without insulting the old folks. I remember teaching my parents what “AF” meant and they were laughing.

Now, that I think about it, I am reminded a little bit of last year’s “Thelma,” which had June Squibb playing detective after falling victim to a phone scam. I wonder if her character should cross paths with these elderly sleuths. Or what if these people crossed paths with the people on “Only Murders in the Building?” But that’s another mystery.

Now Streaming on Netflix