Richard Schickel panned the film, calling it "one of the most execrable movies ever made". Peter Rainer of the "Los Angeles Times" commented; "Sandler has a bad habit of thinking he is funnier than we are". On "At the Movies", Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert both gave the film thumbs down, and Roger Ebert said of Sandler, "...Not an attractive screen presence. He might have a career as a villain or as a fall guy or the butt of a joke, but as the protagonist his problem is that he recreates the fingernails on the blackboard syndrome." Gene Siskel added "...you don't have a good motivation for the character's behavior". Owen Gleiberman also panned the film, saying "By the end, you feel like a drill sergeant—you want to wipe that stupid grin off Sandler's face". Rita Kempley of "The Washington Post" said the film was trying to be "A more kid-friendly version of "Dumb and Dumber".' And there's even a moral: 'Yahoo for education,' though the movie doesn't really put any muscle behind it."