''Hot Dogs'' (french: Les Chiens chauds) is a Canadian crime comedy/

sexploitation A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit s ...

film, directed by Claude Fournier and released in 1980.

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 Cor ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 101. The film has been released under a variety of English titles, including ''Cops and Other Lovers'', ''Under the Cover Cops'' and ''The Clean Up Squad'', but has become best known as ''Hot Dogs''.Charles-Henri Ramond
"Hot Dogs – Film de Claude Fournier"
''Films du Québec'', January 2, 2009. The film stars

Harry Reems Herbert John Streicher (August 27, 1947 – March 19, 2013), better known by his professional pseudonym Harry Reems, was an American pornographic actor and later a successful real estate agent. His most famous roles were as Doctor Young in ...

as "Mr. Clean", the leader of a police

vice squad A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tr ...

who is determined to rid

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

, and Geoffrey Bowes as Maurice, a vice squad officer whose wife leaves him after discovering that his job involves dressing up as a woman to catch and arrest johns, who then decides to hire top local prostitute Estelle (Nicole Morin) to entrap Mr. Clean in a

sex scandal Public scandals involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities are often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals receive attention ...

in order to get him fired.Gary Evans, "Claude Fournier's Les Chiens Chauds (Hot Dogs)". ''

Cinema Canada ''Cinema Canada'' (1972–1989) is a defunct Canadian film magazine, which served as the trade journal of record for the Canadian film and television sector. The magazine had its origins in the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC), which beg ...

'', October/November 1980. The cast also includes

Daniel Pilon Daniel Pilon (November 13, 1940 – June 26, 2018) was a Canadian actor, known for his role on ''Dallas'' as Renaldo "Naldo" Marchetta. Pilon was born in Montreal, Quebec. In addition to ''Dallas'', he has appeared in daytime soap operas such as ...

, Paul Berval, Greg Swanson,

Fiona Reid Fiona Reid, CM (born 24 July 1951) is an English-born Canadian television, film, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles as Cathy on the TV series ''King of Kensington'' and Harriet Miller in the film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding''. E ...

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 ...

Ghyslain Tremblay Ghyslain Tremblay (April 29, 1951 – April 7, 2020) was a Canadian actor and comedian. Tremblay was married to actress Danielle Brassard-Leduc. They had two sons before divorcing. He died at age 68 from COVID-19 in the Montreal borough of Verdun ...

Jean Lapointe Jean Lapointe, (December 6, 1935 – November 18, 2022) was a Canadian actor, comedian and singer as well as a Senate of Canada, Canadian Senator. Lapointe began his stage career as part of the duo ''Les Jérolas'' with Jérôme Lemay, perf ...

, Monique Lepage and

Guy L'Écuyer Guy L'Écuyer (July 26, 1931 - September 20, 1985) was a Canadian actor from Montreal, Quebec. He was most noted for his performance in André Forcier's 1983 film ''Au clair de la lune'', for which he received a Genie Award nomination for Best Act ...

Critical response

Stephen Godfrey of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' panned the film, writing that "there'd be no point in talking about this embarrassment if it didn't bear the names of a number of talented Canadian actors, most notably Fiona Reid and Geoffrey Bowes, whose presence and performances in this film make one believe they need money very badly." He further opined that the dialogue was so bad that somebody ought to sue Fournier on behalf of the English language, but conversely praised Reems for giving a stronger performance than expected, writing that "when eemsencounters Miss Morin in the last part of the film and his facade begins to crumble, there are moments when he expresses the required vulnerability with real skill. Surprisingly, one almost begins to care about him. Given the idiocy that surrounds him, that is at least as awe-inspiring as anything else Reems may have shown on film in the past."Stephen Godfrey, "Hot Dogs steamy but unpalatable". ''

'', December 2, 1980. For ''

'', Gary Evans wrote that "this nonsense does at least poke fun at the whole vice squad concept and the all-too-frequent entrapment techniques that police use to put pressure on prostitutes. Pity that Fournier and Raymond's screenplay missed the chance to comment on how vice squads seem to habitually rear their heads when city administrations wish to divert attention from municipal corruption."

References

External links

* 1980 films 1980 comedy-drama films Canadian crime comedy films Canadian sex comedy films Films directed by Claude Fournier English-language Canadian films 1980s Canadian films 1980s English-language films Canadian sexploitation films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub