made (and stylishly photographed by Lisa Rinzler, one of a very few women cinematographers) it does occasionally overreach, going a little heavy on the rural grotesques as well as the romantic nature of the Anita/Howard relationship. On the other hand, it is the film's ability to mostly show us that relationship on its own terms, to reveal both why these two are made for each other and why their very closeness inevitably leads to disaster, that is its strongest suit. With moments of odd, dark humor sprinkled among the violence, this traditional study of psycho kittens in love breaks just enough new ground to be an impressive piece of work." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called Guncrazy a "knock-out B movie". Vincent Canby of The New York Times called the film "very accomplished and "cruelly entertaining", and praised the "excellent screenplay". Canby called the film "a remarkably rich melodrama with a strong narrative line and vivid characters. There's no waste space in this movie. Every second of its 97 minutes counts." Hal Hinson of The Washington Post called the film a "source of constant surprise," and wrote that Bright's screenplay "gives the movie a strong sense of direction even when his characters are lost. Plus, Bright gives the actors some classic deadpan lines." Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle gave the film three and a half stars out of five and wrote, "Barrymore proves -- once again -- that she's better than 98% of the teenage actresses out there; she manages to make Anita simultaneously pathetic in her desperate neediness and powerful in her smoldering, turbo-charged teenage sexuality."TV Guide gave the film three stars out of five and wrote, "Marketing-minded folks may be quick to position Guncrazy as a 90s take on Bonnie and Clyde (1967), and its title is certainly meant to evoke Joseph H. Lewis's 1949 classic Gun Crazy. But this film is by no means as brash, startling, or iconoclastic as either." TV Guide'' also wrote, "Despite her character's actions and circumstances, Barrymore brilliantly makes the audience believe Anita is not a slutty piece of trailer trash with her guileless, winning smile and chirpy good-heartedness." Fred Beldin of AllMovie gave the film two and a half stars out of five and called it an "effective low-key thriller". Beldin praised Barrymore's performance and called Drago's character "unforgettable", stating that he played the role "with just the right combination