In an AllMusic review, Alex Ogg wrote: "The Circle Jerks were always a limited band that happened to cover the basics exceptionally well. However, Wonderful is the worst example of the treadmill approach to hard rock/punk that engulfed them in the mid-'80s.
In an AllMusic review, Alex Ogg noted that The Circle Jerks' strengths resided in their ability to excel at the basics, but their music was also a product of the trend towards formulaic hard rock/punk in the mid-1980s, which is most evident in their worst album, Wonderful.