La moutarde me monte au nez (translated as I'm Losing My Temper or Lucky Pierre) is a 1974 French comedy film directed by Claude Zidi, starring Pierre Richard and Jane Birkin.
Pierre Durois (Richard) is a math teacher. His father (Claude Piéplu) is a surgeon and a conservative politician. He is the mayor of the town and the elections are coming. Pierre is also friend with Patrick, a paparazzi. Thanks to an extraordinary combination of circumstances, Pierre will end up in the villa of Jackie Logan (Birkin), a movie star.
La moutarde me monte au nez provides examples of:
- Accidental Pervert: Just after Jackie described him as a sex machine to the press, Pierre ends up accidentally in a shower room full of young girls. Consequently, the journalists think he is a sexual pervert. On the radio, a journalist says that he could be the one who raped ten nuns years ago.
- Bandage Mummy: Hubert Durois decides to encase his son in plaster casts so that he cannot harm his election campaign any more.
- Betty and Veronica: Pierre (Archie) has to choose between Danielle (Betty), a colleague teacher, and Jackie Logan (Veronica), a famous film star.
- Bloody Hilarious: When he hears that his son appears in a newspaper, Hubert Durois is so furious that he cannot carry out an operation correctly. Consequently, he spread blood everywhere (mainly in the face of his assistants).
- Butt-Monkey: Pierre falls several time into the water, he gets knocked out, his buttocks are burnt by a light bulb, he gets some red viscous substance on his head, he is chased by a cheetah who tears his clothes, he gets his hair dyed in pink, he is mistaken for a sexual pervert, he gets completely encased in plaster casts...
- Caught on Tape: Albert Renaudin secretly records Pierre when he tells him about the night he spent in Jackie's villa.
- Crashing Through the Harem: When he flees from the nurses inside the school, Pierre falls into a shower room full of female students. When they realize he is the guy who spent one night with Jackie Logan, they try to flirt with him.
- Dean Bitterman: The headmaster is very strict and conservative. He complains about the fact that Pierre, who is in a relationship with another teacher, is too demonstrative.
- Fanservice: In the opening sequence, Jackie Logan (Jane Birkin) swims naked in her pool.
- Follow in My Footsteps: Pierre's father would like him to become a politician like himself.
- Force Feeding: Hubert Durois forces Albert Renaudin to eat his own newspaper.
- Gilligan Cut:
- Pierre says that he will not bring his students to the place where the movie is shot. Immediately thereafter, we see that he is with them in the car.
- Pierre tells Jackie that he will not wear a checkered suit. Immediately thereafter, we see that he wears it.
- High-Pressure Blood: When Hubert Durois operates after hearing about his son, there is an explosive jet of blood every time he cuts into something. The said jet generally ends up in the face of one of his assistants.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: Pierre Durois is a clumsy math teacher. He is very different from his father, who is a successful surgeon, a conservative politician and the mayor of his town.
- Mistaken for Gay: Pierre is mistaken for gay because he got his hair dyed in pink.
- Moral Guardians:
- Pierre's father. He is a conservative politician and complains about a poster with a naked woman.
- The headmaster. He complains that Pierre is too demonstrative about his relationship with another teacher. He wants to protect the students from immoral behaviours. He attends the meetings of Pierre's father.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed:
- Harry Welsinger, an American diplomat involved in peace talks in Asia, is based on Henry Kissinger.
- Claudio, an Italian director of western movies, is based on Sergio Leone.
- Panthera Awesome: The movie star Jackie Logan owns a pet cheetah.
- Paparazzi: Patrick. In the opening sequence, he hides inside Jackie's swimming pool with a diving equipment to photograph her.
- Pool Scene: In the opening sequence, Jackie Logan swims naked in her pool.
- The Precarious Ledge: When Pierre flees from the nurses at the school, he has to use a narrow ledge. Played for Laughs: a journalist, who is also on the ledge tries to interview him. Finally, Pierre falls from the ledge into a shower room.
- Queer People Are Funny: The guy with his hair dyed in blue who picks up Pierre when he is hitchhiking. He is funny only because of his Camp Gay look and speech.
- Satchel Switcheroo: Pierre has three binders: one with his father's speech, one with naked pictures of Jackie Logan, and one with math written tests. His students exchange the content of the binders, so his father gets the naked pictures; Patrick, the paparazzi, gets the math tests; and Richard keeps the speech.
- Set Behind the Scenes: Jackie Logan is a film star and she is making a western film directed by Claudio, an Italian director.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Towards the end, Pierre and Jackie are fighting in a lake, when Pierre suddenly kisses Jackie.
- Sleeping Dummy: In the hospital, Pierre uses an inflatable doll to make believe he is still in his bed.
- Unusual Pets for Unusual People: The movie star Jackie Logan owns a pet cheetah.
- You Just Ruined the Shot: Pierre interrupts twice the shooting of Claudio's movie. He always ends up with a car in the middle of an Indian cavalry charge.
