Looking for Mr. Goodbar

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Looking for Mr. Goodbar

R,

1977,

2h 15m,

Mystery & Thriller

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Watchlist

Watchlist

67%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

74%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

74%

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.

Critics Consensus

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

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Louise Sweet

Sight & Sound

Mar 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.

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Melissa Anderson

Village Voice

May 4, 2016

What makes the film ... so fascinating and repellent at once is precisely the confusion and anxiety it articulates about women's sexual freedom.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Apr 8, 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.

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Erika Balsom

4Columns

Feb 7, 2026

Brooks’s film weighs the promises of emancipation against the persistence of heterosexual norms and delivers a crushing verdict.

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Raymond Marseley

5th Freedom (Buffalo)

May 3, 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.

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Jas Keimig

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

Dec 8, 2021

1977 was the year of TWO fantastic Diane Keaton performances.

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Albus P

Dec 16, 2017

Story about a promiscuous single girl during New York City's 1970's disco party lifestyle. Diane Keaton does a great job. One of her best roles. A dangerous way to live for women.

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Finn S

May 7, 2017

Typical 70s movie with typically strong performances, especially of Diane Keaton about typical 70s problem. It's curious to observe young Richard Gere and Tom Berenger.

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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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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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