Hilarious film title changes for French audiences

The French are known for their, let's say, "unique" approach to translating English film titles... into different English. You might think it's a case of 'lost in translation', but it's more like 'found in a whole new translation'. Buckle up; things are about to get silly.

The iconic comedy, straightforwardly titled in English, morphed into 'Very Bad Trip' in France. Interestingly, most French viewers believe this is the authentic title, and the revelation of the original throws them for a loop!

Images: Warner Bros. Pictures

The French clearly have a thing for the "very bad" prefix. When it came to naming a film about two not-so-great cops, the choice was clear: 'Very Bad Cops.' Makes sense, non?

Images: Sony Pictures Releasing

Here we go with the "trip" fixation again. Despite the film being less about travel and more about the shenanigans of getting a rockstar to a gig, 'American Trip' it became.

Images: Universal Pictures

Intimacy sells, especially in France. That’s why this 2011 romantic comedy was translated into the much less subtle ‘S e x Friends.’

Images: Paramount Pictures

Since we know the French love the word 'Trip' in titles, and they most certainly know what 'Euro' means because it’s the same in French, one would think the title could remain the same. But non! ‘S e x Trip’ it is!

Images: DreamWorks Pictures

Are you sensing a theme here? To spice up the dance drama, the French went with the suggestive title 'S e x y Dance.' And yes, that extends to the entire franchise, all the way to 'S e x y Dance 5.'

Images: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

This 2011 comedy centered on a woman looking back at all her ex-boyfriends to see if maybe she missed her soulmate. It wasn’t as much about bed habits as about relationships, but hey… pourquoi pas?

Images: 20th Century Fox

Ok, this one involves a slight translation into French. But it’s pretty obvious what they did here. While intimate scenes are a part of the movie, the French decided to take out references to cruelty and instead put the other thing front and center.

Images: Sony Pictures Releasing

This 1998 thriller centers on sexual assault accusations, which accounts for the logic behind the French translation into English. Its star, Keven Bacon, did describe the script as “the trashiest thing he had ever read” but he loved it too, so in this case, the trash could become clear from the title.

Images: Colombia Pictures

The U.S. title and poster hint at the film's satirical take on teen movies, while the French title just cuts to the chase.

Images: Sony Pictures Releasing

As they do, the French added some flair to this 2000 mock gangster film, turning an easy-to-understand title into a spicier, more descriptive one.

Images: United International Pictures

Although there are a lot more examples of intercourse being added to titles, ‘Crazy’ is another word that French films like to swap for other ones, as seen in this romantic comedy from 2010.

Images: 20th Century Fox

This film, about a hard-partying young writer named Amy (Amy Schumer), gets a direct moniker in France. 'Crazy Amy' sounds more like an eccentric kid than an adult, but hey, why not?

Images: Universal Pictures

The idiom-filled title 'Silver Linings Playbook' transformed into 'Happiness Therapy' in France. They could have borrowed Quebec's lovely translation 'Le Bon côté des choses', but nope, 'Happiness Therapy' won the day!

Images: The Weinstein Company

'Knight and Day,' a clever pun on Tom Cruise’s character’s last name in this 2010 action comedy, lost its wordplay in the French version, making the adapted title quite disconnected from the plot.

Images: 20th Century Fox