AllMovie

It would be easy to say that Mr. Ricco was an interesting and brave attempt for Dean Martin to really stretch his acting ability in what would be his last leading role -- if it wasn't for the fact that Martin plays this most un-Martin-like character as if he were merely a character in a skit on the actor's television variety show. Martin is entirely miscast, but it's clear that he doesn't care; he's not trying to give anything resembling a performance, and this sinks a movie that was already treading water to begin with. Ricco is a terrible movie in almost all departments, starting with the screenplay. Trying to be (for the time) hip and relevant, it ends up being merely exploitative. Worse, it sports a tangled plot that leads up to a climax that makes no sense, so that those poor souls that stick with the movie just to see how it turns out will feel cheated. The supporting cast tries hard but to no avail, and Paul Bogart's direction is simpleminded, obvious, and dispiriting. Give Mr. Ricco a miss.