Critical Reception
The film received mixed to favorable reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 45% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 69 reviews. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 61 out of 100, meaning Generally favorable reviews, based on 21 reviews.
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film one star out of five and called it a "truly awful movie, one of the very worst US pictures to be released in years." Bradshaw said screenwriter Mamet "lets rip with deafening flatulent macho nonsense" and said "He reaches a level of self-parody so extreme his trademark dialogue becomes almost literally meaningless." Bradshaw said the cameos by Mena Suvari and Denise Richards are "insulting and cursorily written" and called the ending of the film "outrageously contrived."
The New York Times film critic Stephen Holden said William H. Macy "is perfectly cast", calling him "a master at playing sticks of human dynamite in mild-mannered camouflage" and that he gives the "nerviest screen performance of his career." Holden said the film is a faithful adaptation of the one-act play from 1982, saying "Its taunting insistence that everyone is racist, voiced in abrasive, staccato Mamet-speak, leaves you feeling battered and vaguely guilty." Holden wrote, "As in much of Mr. Mamet's work, there is a quality of adolescent nose-thumbing, as though it all might be a cruel practical joke designed solely to make us squirm." Holden said viewers may love or hate the film but that it was certainly unforgettable.
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