Manohla Dargis of the "Los Angeles Times" called it, "One of the more cynical and insulting Hollywood offerings in recent memory," saying that, "Unfunny and lacking any sense of commitment to or affection for its characters, the Reginald Hudlin comedy relies on toilet humor, ethnic slurs." In a review for "The New York Times", Stephen Holden criticized the film for utilizing a similar cattle gag scene from the Farrelly brothers comedy "Say It Isn't So" to grab laughs from the audience, saying that "Some jokes, apparently, are just so uproarious they have to be recycled." He also gave note of the performances of Perry and Hurley, finding the latter coming out unscathed but felt the former doesn't do well because "his blocky, charmless screen presence and attitude of blustery impatience make the movie sometimes hard to watch." The film opened at #6 at the U.S. box office and earned $5.7 million in its opening weekend. The film had a budget of $29 million and the film's total gross in the United States was $16.9 million. The film grossed only $20,146,150 at the international box office, although "Serving Sara" has since been more successful with DVD sales and airing on television worldwide.