Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" described it as a "big-band blues in which she endorses sexual spanking [... a calculated bid for outrage". Ray Boren from "The Deseret News" described "Hanky Panky" as "naughty", comparing it to the 1928 jazz song "Makin' Whoopee" by Eddie Cantor. Dave Tianen from "The Milwaukee Sentinel", while reviewing "I'm Breathless" noted that "one aspect of Madonna remains constant even when you push her back in time. 'Hanky Panky' is one of the few pop tunes to explore the erotic entertainment value in a good spanking." For Medium's Richard LaBeau, "it gets points for its boldness and audacity. Yet it never truly rises above its novelty status". Writing for "The Pittsburgh Press", Peter B. King believed that the subject matter of "Hanky Panky" would surely receive "flank", but defended Madonna saying that she had been singing about such topics for years by then.