Variety called it "an often-hilarious, partly-muffed contemporary comedy" marred by "sluggish pacing" and a climax called "bizarre: Lear seems to have written himself into a corner, with no way out except to shift abruptly from human comedy to stylistic nonsense." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film four stars and praised several aspects of the production before concluding: "Even if you don't smoke, you'll find Cold Turkey funny."
Variety characterized it as "a frequently amusing, but imperfectly executed contemporary comedy" marred by "slow tempo" and a climax called "perplexing: Lear seems to have trapped himself into a corner, with no way out except to make a sudden transition from human comedy to artistic absurdity." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film four stars and praised several aspects of the production before concluding: "Even if you don't smoke, you'll find Cold Turkey amusing."