Sheila has the first good sex of her life with Sam, but when she expresses romantic feelings for him, he lets her know he considers their encounter just a one-night stand, "satisfying an urge".

Something disastrous happened to the heroine of Gail Parent's funny novel, Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York, on her way to the silver screen...

[4] Arthur D. Murphy of Variety wrote "Substantially different from Gail Parent's book of the same title, the film version of Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York is a very appealing romantic drama with comedy ... Jeannie Berlin's title role performance is outstanding, and Roy Scheider's excellent performance as her reluctant lover is a major career milestone.

"[5] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three stars out of four and called it "a surprisingly warm and funny tale," with a protagonist "who is someone special.

"[6] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote of the adaptation from page to screen that "it's difficult to understand why the material was transformed into romantic idiocy.

"[7] Pauline Kael of The New Yorker declared "A confused, part-liberated rehash of old Hollywood attitudes toward the young girl working in the big city, Sheila Levine isn't much of a movie.