"A Dirty Shame" received mixed reviews from critics, with its unashamed vulgarity being both lauded and lampooned. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 53% based on 117 reviews and an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "John Waters casts his provocative eye towards libido in a sex satire that won't leave audiences feeling too "Dirty", but this sophomoric farce doesn't strike a nerve like his best work -- a real "Shame"." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".