Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

After stumbling on Beau Pere (1981) earlier this year, basically by accident, I enjoyed it so much I wanted to see more by this French director, Bertrand Blier. Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978) was said to have similar themes, and I had actually heard of it before- as an Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. But the title suggesting a sappy romance had put me off on seeing it before I saw Beau Pere.Sappy romance? Well, it's nothing off the sort. The film revolves around Solange, played by French Canadian Carole Laure, who's suffering an inexplicable deep depression with a range of negative symptoms. Her husband, Raoul, thinks an open marriage might cheer her up and enlists a stranger named Stéphane (Patrick Dewaere from Beau Pere) to be her lover.Now, unlike some, the concept of open marriage doesn't quite shock me. What's really humorously puzzling is that when Solange seems uninterested in an affair, Raoul insists on it. Even when Stéphane doesn't think it's very wise, either. Both men, as well as a neighbour grocer, become a team working on Solange, trying to cure her of her depression, puzzling about women. Earlier in the film, Raoul pulls a woman off the street to ask her about the situation; she later drops out of the movie, but it might have been funny to see her stick with the group, making the team puzzling over Solange even bigger.Half-way through the movie, Raoul, Stéphane and Solange work in a boys' summer camp, where they meet a 13-year-old prodigy, Christian. From here, the movie is mainly about Christian and Solange, with Raoul and Stéphane dropping to supporting roles- a little jarring at first, maybe. It's here where the movie shares a theme with Beau Pere, but with gender roles reversed- Christian and Solange become taboo lovers, and later, Solange and her team kidnap him, with Christian going willingly.Now, of course hebephilia and statutory rape are sensitive topics these days, but as with Beau Pere, I don't think Blier's movie is defending it all that much. It's obvious Solange isn't in the best state of mental health, and when Raoul and Stéphane bitterly walk away after serving 6 months in jail, they realize the whole thing wasn't worth it. Get Out Your Handkerchiefs is altogether a quirky, unique, and often funny movie. What I'm really left wondering about is the character of Solange- who is she, and how did she get the way she is? None of the characters can say for sure, they're not even sure if she's smart or "just plain dumb." It's said many times her depression is a result of having no kid, but why did she have a mental block against being pregnant? Ultimately, the audience is left to wonder along with Raoul and Stéphane while listening to Mozart and maybe sipping on a drink. Merci, Mozart.

What does a women want? I think the recent popularity of films like the Science of Sleep, I Heart Huckabees and Being John Malkovich deserves to rekindle interest in this important but largely forgotten director.Through the late 70's and 80's, Blier single handedly kept alive the French tradition of Absurdist Theater. While films like Being John Malkovich and I Heart Huckabees incorporate elements of surrealism, they remained tied to conventional narratives that require that ultimately everything ultimately make sense. Kaufman and Russell are relying on throwing a few nonsensical elements into their conventional narratives. Blier (and to a lesser extent Gondry) stop making sense and embrace the absurdity of life.

I saw this movie several times, as it's a classic we can see quite often on TV. I just watched it once more last night. What do we have here ? Les valseuses revisited. This time with Carol Laure instead of Miou Miou, but the same "ménage à trois", with the male ambiguous friendship, the frigid or depressive hysterical woman, and the outsider who reveals her. This time, the third guy is a young boy. A thin difference.The only good thing in this movie is the performance of the guys, Depardieu and Dewaere. They are even better than in les valseuses. The character played by Carole Laure is uninteresting, and the young boy is really awfully played and boring.Before reading the comments here I didn't know this little misogynist comedy won an important award in some foreign country, and I still don't understand what makes it a winner.Too bad, as Both B. Blier, Depardieu and Dewaere can be found together in better movies. Just watch Buffet Froid, Beau père and of course 'les valseuses'. 4/10

"Get Our Your Handkerchiefs" is a funny little film about the need for sexual gratification and all the insecurities and absurdities it entails. The humor is unapologetically raunchy, and yet the story retains all the sophistication of something by Lubitsch. But it's also quite touching; the dismal woman, it turns out, only wanted someone she could identify with, someone who felt the same need for intellectual companionship that was masked by her sexual dissatisfaction. The solution is provided by a 13-year-old wunderkind who, unlike the husband or his friend, knows how to relate to the woman, and their relationship is far more real and convincing that any other in the story. Bertrand Blier constructed a film that questions and ultimately debunks nearly every `rule' on relationships, and provides more than a few belly laughs along the way. In a nutshell, "Get Our Your Handkerchiefs" is one of the few sex comedies out there that actually has something to say about sex.