Reception from critics was generally negative, particularly for the hammy acting and silly dialogue. The climax too is a mess of hammy acting. Lister compares the main character Hammy Hamster the rodent equivalent of Marlon Brando. Stacey Anderson of "Spin" criticized the songs' "witticisms" and noted "brutish synths and hammy bleats". Clooney was to play the main character, "a hammy actor with a pencil mustache". Larriva's first acting role was "Hammy" on The Pee-wee Herman Show in 1981. Criticism focused mostly on the hammy script and shallow plot. He looked the part, but sounds a little too hammy. He played the lead role, Allan Manville, an ageing hammy Shakespearean has-been. "TV Guide" called the series "Hammy, artificial, and altogether excruciating". To his chagrin, Andre is asked when there will be another Hammy movie. It was engineered by Pat Grogan and produced by Hammy. The line-up was completed by William "Hammy" Howell and ex Mickey Jupp singer Bob Fish. Lyons appears in the commercial in a hammy locker room shot with Tina. His uncle, Hammy Bissell, was also part of the faculty.