Tais-toi! / Ruby & Quentin

Shut up!

Note: this is only in reference to the US title. The UK one is absolutely spot on.

When I was talking about Due Date the first time, I mentioned that no one does "buddy movies  " like Francis Veber and named Le Diner de Cons, although the one that Due Date should be compared to (if some comparisons had to be drawn) is probably Tais-toi! as it includes a sort of road trip that Le Diner de Cons didn’t.

Tais-toi! is the story of Quentin (Gerard Depardieu), a big oaf who is VERY annoying but quite loveable, and Ruby (Jean Reno), a hardened criminal with a mission. They meet in prison, and whilst Ruby organises his escape, Quentin does too. Shenanigans follow.

What I liked about this film (and not about Due Date), is the chemistry between the 2 characters, the presence of villains (Yes, despite the protagonists being criminals, there are villainer guys), a lot of very funny lines, and more plausible situations. Yeah, ok,  there is a car chase, but it's tamer than anything you would see on Highway Cops.

The French title "Tais-toi!" is a clear mention of what Ruby tells Quentin about 50 times (or more) in the film: to shut up. Because Quentin talks way too much, and that's what gets him in trouble.

Why then the US (and German, actually) title of "Ruby & Quentin"? Is it some sort of reference to Thelma and Louise?

As I mentioned up there, the best way to translate "tais-toi" in this context is "shut up", because of the derogatory way Ruby talks to Quentin all the time.

I guess that as "shut up" is not the most polite expression in English, it was probably not wanted on billboards (in certain countries), but the idea could have been kept with a politer "be quiet" or “keep silent” or something like that, which would convey the same idea as the French expression, but probably less offensive, and yet more accurate.