"The Irish Times" review called "The Pirate Movie" a "travesty" of the Gilbert and Sullivan original and said "with a philosophy of shove everything in regardless, it's nothing more than a waste of Miss McNichol's abilities, the audience's time and the incentives offered to make films in Australia." "Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide" rated the film as a BOMB and stated: "Not only trashes the original, but also fails on its own paltry terms. It should have been called "The Rip-off Movie""."TV Guide" stated "Pop tunes are mixed in with some of the original G&S songs in a pirate period setting that grates on the nerves, as does the inane toilet humor that substitutes for wit. All the performers, especially McNichol, look as if they can't wait until the film is over, and one can hardly blame them."