The film was one of the first motion pictures to deal frankly and realistically with the subject of AIDS and the impact of the relatively new disease on the gay community in the Ronald Reagan era and at the height of the pandemic.

"It is to both his and the film's credit that the anguish of AIDS is presented as part of a larger social fabric, understood in context, and never in a maudlin light," said Janet Maslin in her New York Times review.

[1][2] Time Out London wrote “Sherwood brings a notable grace and droll humour to his story of two male lovers parting against the backdrop of a friend dying of the Big A.”[3] In 2006, Outfest and the UCLA Film and Television Archive announced that the film would be the first to be restored as a part of the Outfest Legacy Project.

The four major stars of the film, Richard Ganoung, John Bolger, Steve Buscemi, and Kathy Kinney, were in attendance and participated in a panel discussion after the viewing.

[5] The restoration print received its New York City premiere on October 29, 2007 at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.