 Roger Ebert wrote that it "was said to have something to do with Watergate and keeping tabs on those who are not like you”, and called Kael's praise for the film "inexplicable", while "Time" magazine's Richard Schickel labeled its screenplay "laughably literal".Phil Hardy's "Aurum Film Encyclopedia" called Kaufman's direction "less sure" than the screenplay.The film received a nomination from the Writers Guild of America for Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium.