Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four stars in his review, noting Rudolph's combination of style and emotional sincerity that is aware of being funny while calling it a "movie that takes place within our memories of the movies." Ebert later named it #5 on his list of the best movies of 1986. Walter Goodman of "The New York Times" was less enthusiastic; he wrote that Rudolph "seems to be striving to say something but isn’t able to break through the fog of the script."