The website's consensus reads: "A boozy depiction of a struggling writer, Big Bad Love is too messy and self-indulgent.

"[8] The New York Times reviewer A. O. Scott wrote, "For every moment of breathtaking strangeness -- as when Leon, after a road accident, awakens in a field of kudzu strewn with manuscript pages -- there is an overly stylized scene in which literary self-consciousness suffocates lived reality", "(the film) is a self-indulgent celebration of self-indulgence".

[1] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Howard's Big Bad Love bewilders -- a whole lot of opulent Southern atmosphere about some stunted, opaque characters".

[2] Ken Fox of TV Guide writes "The film's few saving graces include Dickinson's sardonic southern belle; Winger's welcome return to the screen after a five-year absence; and Howard's voice-over readings of Brown's powerful prose, which ultimately saves the film from itself.

",[9] while Rachel Gordon of Filmcritic wrote, "For his feature debut as director, Howard impressively mixes fantasy sequences with the depressing reality of pushing creativity as hard as you can against a tide of guilt",[10] and Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Big Bad Love is brave and admirable for the trust that it puts in a viewer's intuition and willingness in going along with it right through to its rewarding finish.