Most critics lean towards liking Peter’s Friends, though few claim much for it. The reviews agree it is a British cousin of The Big Chill, and most forgive the borrowing because the script is quick and the ensemble is good company. Praise gathers on the playing: Thompson and Staunton are named more than once, with Branagh, Fry and Rudner also singled out, and several reviewers say the film simply makes them laugh.
The reservations are about weight. Time Out finds the wit pitched at sitcom level; the Los Angeles Times calls it jokey and cloying even while enjoying it. The spread is wide. Variety thinks the plot is loaded with crises a character comedy cannot carry, and The New Yorker goes furthest, arguing the barbed one-liners and posh cleverness make it closer to a horror film than a comedy. Later British reviews are warmer than the American ones from its release.