(85 mins, 12A)
Directed by Francis Veber; starring Gerard Depardieu, Jean Reno, Richard Berry Frozen

Writer-director Francis Veber's Shut Up! (aka Tais-toi!) is another odd-couple comedy from a French specialist in such things (eg Les Fugitifs, Le Diner de cons) who's had several films remade in Hollywood. In this one, a cheerful, near-moronic motor-mouth thief (Gerard Depardieu), attaches himself to a grim, taciturn super criminal (Jean Reno) in a Parisian jail.

They escape together and become embroiled with ruthless gangsters while being pursued by senior flic Richard Berry. The film moves rapidly, induces regular chuckles rather than belly laughs, and has more beatings and killings than any light-hearted comedy I can think of.