Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" noted that "Dangerfield seems to be setting the film's brisk pace and flawless timing himself." Nina Darnton wrote in "The New York Times" that "the film is a good-natured potpourri of gags, funny bits, populist sentiment and anti-intellectualism." Roger Ebert's "Chicago Sun-Times" 3-star review described the film as "routine but pleasant", yet elevated by Dangerfield's persona: "This is exactly the sort of plot Marx or Fields could have appeared in. Dangerfield brings it something they might also have brought along: a certain pathos."