 In Loden's recollection, European critics who saw the film at its Venice Film Festival premiere interpreted it as a political statement on the existential nature of American life, which she refuted.Critics Judith Crist, Kathleen Carroll, and Pauline Kael wrote unfavorably of the film, recounted by Loden as they disliked the protagonist for being "dumb, and stupid, and all the things people used to say about me...I think they're jealous, I really do...