What to know

critics consensus

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

You might also like

User image

Verified

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Rate this movie

    Oof, that was Rotten.

    Meh, it passed the time.

    It’s good – I’d recommend it.

    Awesome!

    So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

    What did you think of the movie? (optional)

  • You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Step 2 of 2

    How did you buy your ticket?

    Let's get your review verified.

    • Fandango

    • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

    • Cinemark Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Regal Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Theater box office or somewhere else

    By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

    You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Rate this movie

    Oof, that was Rotten.

    Meh, it passed the time.

    It’s good – I’d recommend it.

    Awesome!

    So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

    What did you think of the movie? (optional)

  • How did you buy your ticket?

    • Fandango

    • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

    • Cinemark Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Regal Coming Soon

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Theater box office or somewhere else

    By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

Looking for Mr. Goodbar Photos

View All Photos (9)

Movie Info

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.
  • Rating:
    R
  • Genre:
    mystery and thriller
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Richard Brooks
  • Producer:
    Freddie Fields
  • Writer:
    Richard Brooks
  • Release Date (Theaters):
     wide
  • Runtime:
  • Production Co:
    Paramount

Cast & Crew

Diane Keaton
Theresa
Richard Gere
Tony Lo Porto
Tom Berenger
Gary
Tuesday Weld
Katherine
William Atherton
James
Richard Kiley
Mr. Dunn
Alan Feinstein
Martin
Priscilla Pointer
Mrs. Dunn
Laurie Prange
Brigid
Joel Fabiani
Barney
Richard Brooks
Director
Richard Brooks
Writer
Judith Rossner
Writer (Novel)
Freddie Fields
Producer
Artie Kane
Original Music
Milan Williams
Non-Original Music
William A. Fraker
Cinematographer
Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Looking for Mr. Goodbar

All Critics (26) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (17) | Rotten (9)

  • 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.

    March 31, 2020 | Full Review…

    Louise Sweet

    Sight & Sound

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

    May 4, 2016 | Full Review…

    Melissa Anderson

    Village Voice

  • 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.

    April 8, 2008 | Full Review…

    Variety Staff

    Variety

  • Judith Rossner's calculated bestseller, about a contemporary woman's sexuality and her 'descent' into the world of New York singles bars, gets what it deserves in this old-fashioned adaptation.

    February 9, 2006 | Full Review…
    Time Out

  • Looking for Mr. Goodbar is very much worth seeing, particularly for the Diane Keaton performance.

    October 23, 2004 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Roger Ebert

    Chicago Sun-Times

  • From start to finish in this film, [Keaton] is not only a lost woman, but a soulless one, confused and warped by a hopeless reality with no escape options.

    May 19, 2020 | Full Review…

    Vicki McConnell (Gingerlox)

    Big Mama Rag
View All Critic Reviews (26)

Audience Reviews for Looking for Mr. Goodbar

  • Feb 07, 2011
    Diane Keaton's performance is stunning. And I am fairly certain that I have dated Richard Gere's character. However, I was a bit disappointed that the movie veered away from the book. It is a more interesting story for Theresa to have a self-destructive bent. She picks up guys because she knows they'll be trouble. In the movie she is just a hedonist.
    Juli R Super Reviewer
  • Jun 16, 2010
    A provocative edgy drama based on the best-selling novel by Judith Rossner, about a repressed young teacher named Theresa Dunn, brilliantly played by Diane Keaton in a powerful and emotionally complex performance. whose initially innocent search to find a man of her dreams escalates into promiscuous and dangerous encounters with men she meets in bars, she begins to wallow endlessly in her new "liberated" sexual lifestyle, the thrill of the evening trysts, which eventually involves drugs and violence has her life spinning out of control with this self-destructive behavior. Diane Keaton wonderfully balances the dual aspect of her character's life, by day a outwardly caring teacher to deaf children living a banal existence, and by night a drug-fueled bar tramp, this film is a indictment against the sexual attitudes of the 70s, where disco was the music and coke and weed was the new drugs of choice, the sexual revolution was at it's peak here, before herpes and AIDS made their dreaded entrance. This is one of the few and rare instances where the film is better than the book, thanks to the brilliant screenplay and direction of Richard Brooks. It is difficult to watch at times but this film is pure cinema at it's highest level. Superlative performances from Tuesday Weld, Richard Kiley, William Atherton, Priscilla Pointer, Tom Berenger and Richard Gere in a memorable turn as a hyperactive hustler. Shocking then it is thought-provoking now, and builds to a unforgettable and shattering climax. Highly Recommended.
    Danny R Super Reviewer
  • May 18, 2010
    Former good girl Theresa(Diane Keaton) moves out of her parent''s home to forge a life of her own. During the day she teaches deaf children, but at night she turns into into a promiscuous drug using, party-girl frequenting singles bars. Theresa goes to one last bar and brings home one last stranger. Richard Brooks's LFMG is a straight fwd story with a fascinating character played by Keaton and good supporting roles by Richard Gere and Tuesday Weld and Tom Beranger. Brooks is quite good bringing the 70's vibe with disco music and dark drinking bars and the love Keaton has for deaf children.
    Brian R Super Reviewer
  • Feb 19, 2008
    Real sad for the girl;
    Sherry . Super Reviewer
See all Audience reviews

Looking for Mr. Goodbar Quotes

View All Quotes

Movie & TV guides