Shut Up!

Francis Veber has been known for his ability to construct extremely entertaining films. Most of his films are built in the same way, very classical. This mix includes 2 main characters, who basically shouldn't have anything to do with each other but who due to circumstances get together. Then you add a couple of truculent second roles and a series of inevitable clashes between those two. This structure was used among others in "La Chèvre (The Goat) 1981", starring Pierre Richard and Gerard Depardieu. An interesting point about Depardieu is that while he played the tough guy in The Goat, he got the opposite role, the stupid, nice guy in "Tais-toi (Ruby & Quentin)". Needless to say he is evenly amazing in both, even more as the stupid character where he brings such a pure, simple sense of humanity that you can't feel sympathy for him. Both films deserves their place in an anthology of french humour. Francis Veber likes those -a little bit simple- guys because they offer a lot of potential for comic situations. And while you laugh at these naive character, it's never aimed to make fool of them. Their humanity always eventually prevail and even the tough guy, the one who just wanted to get rid of them at the beginning of the film, finally likes them. In their simplicity, they saw or did things a tough guy would never do, but in a certain unlikely way, they helped. So Tais-toi is a skillfully crafted piece of pure enjoyment, I would even say a master work in the comedy category. No dead moments, every single line of the script is there for a single purpose: to entertain us without appealing to our worst instincts. On the contrary.

Great to see that Francis Veber, the natural heir to Billy Wilder, is still alive and well and turning out crowd-pleasers like this. Truffaut will be turning in his grave - I hope - to know that fifty years on from his vitriol-fuelled attack, 'a certain tendency ...' on PROFESSIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP, filmmakers, and FRENCH filmmakers at that, have not abandoned, as he urged, strong stories, sound directing, and star performances. Here we have a Depardieu a good 30 pounds lighter than of yore and looking younger with it, playing the village idiot to a fare-thee-well against Jean Reno's strong silent type. Compared to Depardieu, who never stops talking (tais-toi translates literally to 'shut up') Reno's words are as carefully measured as tea-bags in Tel Aviv. Only see this movie if you're into verbal wit laced with sight gags and thick-ear confrontations involving a three-way split between Depardieu/Reno, the flics and a team of semi-hard men. Not quite Veber's best but still a respectable 8/10.

I have just returned from the cinema with a burst of energy!

Without doubt, this is THE funniest movie that I have ever seen in my life...be it in French or English. Francis Veber has produced a film that not only equals his earlier works, Le Placard (The Closet - 2001) and Le Diner de Cons (The Dinner Game - 1998), but surpasses them by miles. The entire cinema was rocking with laughter.

And without spoiling the comedy by disclosing some hillarious punchlines, I recommend this film to all cinema-goers, be they French- or English-speakers.

Do yourself a favour... GO AND SEE IT!

10/10.

The film posters are all over the city, in almost every underground station you can see them. Normally that makes me suspicious. Films with too much advertising usually are bad and in desperate need of viewers. So I went to the cinema with a funny feeling in my stomach. I love to see both leading actors very much and do so for years. I don't care what they do, I go and see it. But of course I prefer a good film to a bad one. And I thought a film with both my best-loved French actors couldn't fail.

And you know what? The funny feeling in my stomach... gone after the first five minutes!!! This is a typical Francis Veber film, but one of the better ones, definitely. I laughed so much, my jaw started hurting after a while. I can't say, that there were no stereotypes in there, that the story is brilliant or that the jokes were completely new. In this film what counts are the two leading performances next to strong supporting ones, the fact that there is no boring moment and the Francis Veber touch to the script. Afterwards, coming out of the cinema, I felt good for the rest of the day and I know I will buy the DVD when it comes out. Sometimes I think it's fair to define a good film just by the good feeling you have while watching it.

9 out of 10.

I watched this funny film on DVD with our family during our summer holidays 2005 in Nice, South of France. I have never heard before and I have to admit that this was one of the funniest films I've ever seen and I never laughed so much as here. Gérard Dépardieu and Jean Reno were incredibly full of fun in their roles as thieves and delivered an extraordinary performance. At the beginning I didn't recognize Dépardieu because he had a completely changed look and I mean it in a positive way.

I highly recommend to see it. Rating: 8/10.

If you liked it don't miss the other fun movie starring Jean Reno in "L'Enquiète Corse".