Film critic Bosley Crowther of The New York Times greatly enjoyed the movie, calling it "The broadest and funniest farce to come out of Hollywood since the Russians came last year...who would imagine that a film pretending to be a how-to on infidelity would be funny or even in good taste?" and adding "what is thoroughly and delightfully disarming about this mischievous film is the impudent candor of it and its freedom from the leer." The staff at Variety wrote in their review: "Walter Matthau plays a married innocent, eager to stray under the tutelage of friend and neighbor Robert Morse.
Film critic Bosley Crowther praised the movie as "The broadest and funniest comedy since the Russians visited last year...who would have thought that a film pretending to be an instruction on infidelity could be funny or even acceptable?" The Variety staff wrote: "Walter Matthau portrays a married man, eager to cheat under the guidance of his friend and neighbor Robert Morse."