When his strange new clothes bring derision rather than admiration, and tired of his wife's constant nagging, Wilbur goes off on a drunken spree and innocently becomes involved with the village vamp, Mrs. McIntosh.

The New York Times wrote that Ruggles' "routine comedy method is so uproarious that it is in danger of obscuring his other talents" and that as Wilbur Todd he "produces an authentic and believable character in the principal role, playing down his scenes with admirable restraint."

They wrote that as Wilbur's well-meaning wife Jessie, Mary Boland "is a comedienne who successfully resists the temptation to manufacture broad farce and easy laughs.

"[1] In the Toledo News-Bee journalist Allen Saunders made note that actor Charles Ruggles had been so long identified with sight and sound humor, that audiences had nearly forgotten that he could speak, and that in Mama Loves Papa he "has a chance to do a good job and he does it."

"[2] Hal Erickson of Rovi wrote that the team of Mary Boland and Charles Ruggles collaborating with Norman Z. McLeod made for a delightful film.