The website's consensus reads: "Stress Positions plays on familiar seriocomic tropes with sporadic verve, although the characters are occasionally more interesting than the story they're being used to tell.

"[8] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

[9] Much of the initial critical reaction to Stress Positions centered on the film's satirical approach to issues of race, gender, and sexuality.

[10][3] Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney deemed Stress Positions "busy but thin".

[11] Ryan Lattanzio of Indiewire noted the film's heavy-handed approach to social issues but praised the "wry humor" and the chemistry between Hammel and Early.