When they realize that a winning lottery ticket worth $50,000 is in the wallet, Steve and Wardell set out to find the crooks themselves with the help of gangster Geechie Dan Beauford, who wants to defeat his rival Silky Slim.

[5] The characters in the film, while different in their motives and demeanor, have a sophisticated and classy appearance in the Black community (with the exception of Sharp Eye Washington).

During his career, he refused roles that enforced negative stereotypes, and chose to play characters who were "dignified, proud, and ethical".

[9] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "the funniest film since 'Blazing Saddles' and surely one of the year's most enjoyable movies, the old-fashioned kind that leaves you feeling good when it's over".

[10] Penelope Gilliatt wrote that Richard Wesley's script "has managed to say something farcical with courageous and truthful underpinnings about Black ways of escape into a world that is full of far more fun than any that more privileged whites ever seem to create".

[12] Paul D. Zimmermann of Newsweek wrote: "Poitier is not an inventive comic talent — he is erratic behind the camera and amiable but not funny in front of it.

[13] Variety called the film "uneven", opining that "too much of the time Uptown Saturday Night just lies there, impatiently waiting for more inventive comedy business and a zippier pace than the sober Poitier seems able to provide".

[14] Walter Burrell of Essence magazine wrote "one walks away a bit dissatisfied...One is left with the feeling these great talents could have used a vehicle more suited to their abilities".

[13] David McGillivray of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that "everyone tries so hard to affect a happy-go-lucky air, but the material is so feeble and Sidney Poitier's direction so uninspired that the performances of all but the urbane Roscoe Lee Browne look depressingly mediocre.

David Ansen of Newsweek wrote: "Corny and hip, cynical and sentimental, formulaic and funky, A Piece of the Action may have a medicinal intent, but it goes down like ice cream soda".

The recurring song throughout the film and credits convey self-determination, a motive that reflects the Black Power movement, with the lyrics "I gotta hold on".

[18][19] In 2012, Adam McKay was attached to direct the remake, based on a script by Just Go with It screenwriter Tim Dowling, with Smith and Denzel Washington in the leads.