The film tells the story of a ménage à trois in which two men share a woman to cure her of an unexplained depression, with many symptoms.

Director Bertrand Blier wrote the screenplay "from the middle", starting by writing the scene where Raoul and Stéphane fantasize about meeting Mozart.

[4] While writing the script, Blier planned to use actors Gérard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere as the leads, having previously worked with them on Going Places (1974).

[9] It was a success in the United States, considered a surprise given the taboo subject matter of a woman in a relationship with a minor.

[12] David Denby, writing for New York magazine, praised Get Out Your Handkerchiefs as "courageous and enjoyable" and made in the spirit of the French New Wave.

[9] Richard Fuller, writing for Cincinnati, gave it three and a half stars and said it was "a joy to spend time with,"[13] though he objected to Mozart's music being overly loud.

[14] Variety wrote that "a rather bizarre mixture of gritty comedy, satire and delving into female status makes this a literary film.

There is a lot of talk, sometimes good, but often edgy and too often pointless in lieu of a more robust visual dynamism and life.

"[17] In his 2002 Movie & Video Guide, Leonard Maltin gives the film three and a half stars and calls it "disarming" and "highly unconventional.

"[19] An Epinions critic wrote "Get Out Your Handkerchiefs is good for some laughs while flaunting somewhat outrageous disregard for standard sexual mores.