Drama

Looking for Mr. Goodbar

- To her father, Theresa was a dutiful daughter. To the children she taught, Theresa brought warmth and hope. To the men she met in bars, Theresa was easy. All kinds of people loved Theresa. Diane Keaton plays Theresa in Looking for Mr. Goodbar.

A short, unhappy affair with a married man leads a dedicated schoolteacher into the alcohol-and-drug fueled underworld of singles’ bars, where she begins to engage in a pattern of dangerous sexual activity.

Release Date : 1977-10-19

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Paramount PicturesFreddie Fields Productions

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Theresa

Original Name : Diane Keaton

Gender : Female

Character Name : Katherine

Original Name : Tuesday Weld

Gender : Female

Character Name : James

Original Name : William Atherton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Dunn

Original Name : Richard Kiley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tony

Original Name : Richard Gere

Gender : Male

Character Name : Martin

Original Name : Alan Feinstein

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gary

Original Name : Tom Berenger

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Dunn

Original Name : Priscilla Pointer

Gender : Female

Character Name : Brigid

Original Name : Laurie Prange

Gender : Female

Character Name : Barney

Original Name : Joel Fabiani

Gender : Male

Character Name : Black Cat

Original Name : Julius Harris

Gender : Male

Character Name : George

Original Name : Richard Bright

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cap Jackson

Original Name : LeVar Burton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Jackson

Original Name : Marilyn Coleman

Gender : Female

Character Name : Marvella

Original Name : Carole Mallory

Gender : Female

Character Name : Principal

Original Name : Mary Ann Mallis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Teacher

Original Name : Jolene Dellenbach

Gender : Male

Character Name : Teacher (as Louie Fant)

Original Name : Lou Fant

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bartender

Original Name : Eddie Garrett

Gender : Male

Character Name : Arthur (as Alexander Courtney)

Original Name : Alex Courtney

Gender : Male

Character Name : Surgeon

Original Name : Brian Dennehy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Doctor

Original Name : Richard Venture

Gender : Male

Character Name : Patrick

Original Name : Robert John Burke

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rafe

Original Name : Robert Fields

Gender : Male

Character Name : Father Timothy

Original Name : Richard O'Brien

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chuck

Original Name : Anthony 'Tony' Hawkins

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rhoda

Original Name : Caren Kaye

Gender : Female

Character Name : TV Announcer (as Richard Spangler)

Original Name : Dick Spangler

Gender : Male

Character Name : Little Theresa

Original Name : Elizabeth Cheshire

Gender : Female

Character Name : Woman in Bar

Original Name : Marilyn Roberts

Gender : Female

Character Name : Man in Bar (uncredited)

Original Name : R.J. Adams

Gender : Male

Character Name : Deaf Teacher (uncredited)

Original Name : Rutanya Alda

Gender : Female

Character Name : Man in Bar (uncredited)

Original Name : Bob Harks

Gender : Male

Character Name : Undercover Police Officer (uncredited)

Original Name : John Lafferty

Gender : Male

Character Name : Club Hustler (uncredited)

Original Name : Bill Willens

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

We're all hurt someplace and we're all looking for a painkiller. Looking for Mr. Goodbar is directed by Richard Brooks and Brooks adapts the screenplay from the Judith Rossner novel of the same name. It stars Diane Keaton, Tuesday Weld, William Atherton, Richard Kiley, Richard Gere, Alan Feinstein and Tom Berenger. Music is by Artie Kane and cinematography by William A. Fraker. Theresa Dunn (Keaton) is a dedicated schoolteacher to deaf children by day, but at night she cruises bars looking for abusive men with whom she can engage in progressively violent sexual encounters. First off it should be noted that the Judith Rosner novel is based on the real life case of the 1973 murder of New York City schoolteacher Roseann Quinn. Also of note is that Rossner was not enamoured with this filmic adaptation. What we have here is a tragic tale set in the promiscuous pre AIDS era of 1970s America. It's a bleak observation of the swinging singles scene of the era, providing caution of patriarch pressures, religious suffocation and the dangers of casual encounters for sexual gratification. Is it any wonder the big hitting critics of the time were nonplussed by it?... The pic generated a lot of buzz for handsome new actor, Richard Gere, even if he does overact, it actually works in context to the brashness of the period. It also introduced Tom Berenger, in what is a frightening portrayal of a very sexually confused man. Tuesday Weld got a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for playing Theresa's sister, which was richly deserved, so much so one wishes she was in the film more. Yet it's Keaton who absolutely shines here, lifting an overlong picture to greater heights. Proving she had more in her armoury than merely playing kooks, Keaton imbues Theresa with a desperation and loneliness that is shattering for viewing purpose. The whole narrative bites with a crushing inevitability, that the nihilistic back drop can only bring pain and misery, and so it proves. Richard Brooks should have sliced at lest thirty minutes from the run time, especially given that the "Theresa fantasy sequences" just come off as pointless and take one out of the heartbeat of the story. Yet this is still a fine movie, not one to be cheered up by of course, but poignant, relative and with the real life story at the core, important. 7/10