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Looking for Mr. Goodbar

Play trailer Poster for Looking for Mr. Goodbar R 1977 2h 15m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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63% Tomatometer 32 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Raised in a strict Catholic family, Theresa (Diane Keaton) teaches deaf children during the day and cruises singles bars and discos at night. Theresa favors rough sex with random suitors, ignoring the advances of well-meaning but nerdy social worker James (William Atherton). Instead, Theresa pursues the likes of Tony (Richard Gere), whose threatening knife and swagger excite her. Theresa indulges in increasingly dangerous encounters, putting her life at risk.
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Looking for Mr. Goodbar

Looking for Mr. Goodbar

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Critics Consensus

Diane Keaton gives an absolutely fearless performance in a sexual thriller whose ending will leave audiences trembling.

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Critics Reviews

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Louise Sweet Sight & Sound 03/31/2020
The portentous invocation of Catholic guilt and psychotically split personality couldn't be clearer if 'Madonna and Whore' had also been laid out in blinking neon. Go to Full Review Melissa Anderson Village Voice 05/04/2016
What makes the film ... so fascinating and repellent at once is precisely the confusion and anxiety it articulates about women's sexual freedom. Go to Full Review Variety Staff Variety 04/08/2008
In Looking for Mr Goodbar, writer-director Richard Brooks manifests his ability to catch accurately both the tone and subtlety of characters in the most repellant environments. Go to Full Review Erika Balsom 4Columns Feb 7
Brooks’s film weighs the promises of emancipation against the persistence of heterosexual norms and delivers a crushing verdict. Go to Full Review Raymond Marseley 5th Freedom (Buffalo) 05/03/2023
In a day when some straights are just beginning to suspect that all gay men might not be women-hating freaks, Brooks is reinforcing a negative, stereotypic image of gay men. Go to Full Review Jas Keimig The Stranger (Seattle, WA) 12/08/2021
1977 was the year of TWO fantastic Diane Keaton performances. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Kyle Nov 18 Don’t think I’ve ever been in a theater where everyone one says in unison “Holy shit what the fuck” at an ending See more Thomas M @Morningstar69 Mar 6 Another lost classic. Perfect from start to finish. See more Diane B @RT34050899 Nov 1 I saw this years ago and thought it was due for a rewatch. I’d read the novel as well as the article about the true crime that Judith Rossner used as inspiration. The film strangely looks cheap, especially the dream/flashbacks sequences. Keaton does a great job with the role of Theresa, whose vulnerability shines through. However, the other actors seem as though they’re in another film. Richard Kiley and Tuesday Weld are so annoying with their ham fisted performances and over the top reactions that it plays out more like a 70s tv soap. Still, it’s fun to see a very young LeVar Burton and a hot 1970s Richard Gere on screen. See more matt p @RT09790479 Aug 26 mr goodbar deals with a subject that is totally taboo in hollywood cinema...specifically female sexual desire. keaton gives a mesmerizing and heartbreaking performance as a dedicated teacher by day//by night she is a thrill seeking disco frequenter. Remember it is the 1970s so her young single pretty women on her own is hardly an outlier in her hedonistic behavior.the supporting cast is very good but it is Keaton who manages to be sweet/bitter... happy/sad.... funny/serious in a very complex role.Bravo Diane Keaton! See more Alec B @Alec97 May 14 The movie is not really reactionary (if it were the father character wouldn't come off so badly) nor does it embrace Keaton's "liberated" lifestyle as something noble in and of itself. The mixed reviews clearly reflect a frustration with the screenplay's desire to explore the dangers of a totally free life while also not condemning the characters. As to the ending, I think it works and doesn't actually come off as unbelievable. It makes total sense that Berenger's character arrives in that moment (he's actually well set-up before that) and his lack of a previous connection with Keaton robs the movie of any overt moralizing in either direction. See more Tim R @RT27542570 01/29/2025 Great performance from Diane Keaton but a gut wrenching ending. See more Read all reviews
Looking for Mr. Goodbar

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Richard Brooks

Director

Diane Keaton

Theresa

Richard Gere

Tony Lo Porto

Tom Berenger

Gary

Tuesday Weld

Katherine

William Atherton

James

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Looking for Mr. Goodbar

Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Raised in a strict Catholic family, Theresa (Diane Keaton) teaches deaf children during the day and cruises singles bars and discos at night. Theresa favors rough sex with random suitors, ignoring the advances of well-meaning but nerdy social worker James (William Atherton). Instead, Theresa pursues the likes of Tony (Richard Gere), whose threatening knife and swagger excite her. Theresa indulges in increasingly dangerous encounters, putting her life at risk.
Director
Richard Brooks
Producer
Freddie Fields
Screenwriter
Richard Brooks, Judith Rossner
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Paramount
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 7, 1977, Wide
Runtime
2h 15m
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