''Hold on to Daddy's Ears'' (french: Tiens-toi bien après les oreilles à papa), also known as ''What the Hell Are They Complaining About?'',

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian.Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 237. is a Canadian comedy film, directed by Jean Bissonnette and released in 1971. A satirical allegory for

Quebec nationalism Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...

, the film stars

Dominique Michel Dominique Michel, OC, CQ (born ''Aimée Sylvestre''; September 24, 1932 in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec) is a Quebec comedian, actress, singer and artist. Biography She began her career in cabarets performing songs written by Raymond Lévesque and sub ...

as Suzanne David and

Yvon Deschamps Yvon Deschamps (born July 31, 1935, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Quebec author, actor, comedian and producer best known for his monologues. His social-commentary-tinged humour propelled him to prominence in Quebec popular culture in the 1970s and 1 ...

as Jacques Martin, two French Canadians working for the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

office of a large

English Canadian English Canadians (french: Canadiens anglais or ), or Anglo-Canadians (french: Anglo-Canadiens), refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is use ...

insurance company from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

.Charles-Henri Ramond
"Tiens-toi bien après les oreilles à papa – Film de Jean Bissonnette"
''Films du Québec'', April 12, 2009. The cast also includes

Dave Broadfoot Dave Broadfoot (December 5, 1925 – November 1, 2016) was a Canadian comedian and satirist. He is best known for his performances as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Farce.Gilles Latulippe Gilles Latulippe CM CQ (31 August 1937 – 23 September 2014) was a Québécois actor, comedian and theatre director and manager. Latulippe was a central figure in the history of comic theatre in Quebec. In 1998, he was named Quebec's favourit ...

, Jean Leclerc, Hélène Loiselle, Suzanne Lévesque, Alpha Boucher and Claude Michaud in supporting roles.

Release

The film premiered in limited release in Montreal on December 25, 1971. It was an immediate popular success, grossing over $600,000 in eight weeks across just five theatres; it received broader theatrical release across Quebec in 1972, ultimately grossing over $2 million across its entire theatrical run.Dane Lanken
"Comedy is best policy for Gilles Richer"
''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', February 24, 1973.

Legacy

Screenwriter Gilles Richer's next film, 1973's ''

Enuff Is Enuff "Enuff" is a song by the American hip hop producer DJ Shadow featuring the American rappers Q-Tip and Lateef the Truthspeaker, released on September 25, 2006 as the second single from his third studio album '' The Outsider'' (2006). Music v ...

(J'ai mon voyage!)'' addressed similar themes and again starred Michel, but was not a sequel to ''Daddy's Ears''. In contemporary times, the film has also been analyzed as a precursor of the MeToo movement for its depiction of the sexist behaviour that Suzanne was forced to endure in the workplace. A key scene in the film, in which Suzanne and Jacques are forced to pray the rosary in both English and French simultaneously, is considered one of the classic scenes in the cinema of Quebec.Mario Girard
"L’impressionnant parcours d’un homme discret"
'' La Presse'', April 2, 2016. The song "Mommy Daddy", written by Richer and songwriter Marc Gélinas and performed by Michel and Gélinas for the film's soundtrack, was a hit, which became one of Michel's enduring signature songs and was inducted into the

Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (''Panthéon des Auteurs et Compositeurs canadiens'') is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 1998 by Frank Davies, that inducts Canadians into their ''Hall of Fame'' within three different categori ...

in 2014.Lara Zarum
"Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

'', October 26, 2020.

References

External links

*{{imdb title, 0190203 1971 films Canadian comedy films Canadian satirical films 1970s Canadian films French-language Canadian films Quebec films 1971 comedy films 1970s French-language films