Writing in Variety , Todd McCarthy said the cast ensemble " could not be better " ; he praised Spacey 's " handling of innuendo , subtle sarcasm , and blunt talk " and the way he imbued Lester with " genuine feeling " . Janet Maslin in The New York Times said Spacey was at his " wittiest and most agile " to date , and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun @-@ Times singled Spacey out for successfully portraying a man who " does reckless and foolish things [ but who ] doesn 't deceive himself " . Kevin Jackson of Sight & Sound said Spacey impressed in ways distinct from his previous performances , the most satisfying aspect being his portrayal of " both sap and hero " . Writing in Film Quarterly , Gary Hentzi praised the actors , but said that characters such as Carolyn and Col. Fitts were stereotypes . Hentzi accused Mendes and Ball of identifying too readily with Jane and Ricky , saying the latter was their " fantasy figure " — a teenaged boy who 's an absurdly wealthy artist able to " finance [ his ] own projects " . Hentzi said Angela was the most believable teenager , in particular with her " painfully familiar " attempts to " live up to an unworthy image of herself " . Maslin agreed that some characters were unoriginal , but said their detailed characterizations made them memorable . Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said the actors coped " faultlessly " with what were difficult roles ; he called Spacey 's performance " the energy that drives the film " , saying the actor commanded audience involvement despite Lester not always being sympathetic . " Against considerable odds , we do like [ these characters ] , " Turan concluded .