"However, Leonard Maltin, in his annual Movie Guide, gave the film an extremely rare four-star review—one of only 408 films out of nearly 16,000 given the designation during the 45 year period that it was published.Calling "Garp" "dazzling" and "beautifully acted by all, especially Close (in her film debut)...and Lithgow," Maltin went on to praise the film as an "absorbing, sure-footed odyssey through vignettes of social observation, absurdist humor, satire and melodrama."