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Movie Info & Cast

Director:

Richard Brooks

Producer:

Freddie Fields

Writer:

Judith Rossner

Release Date:

Jan 1, 1977

Runtime:

2hr 16m

Synopsis

Dedicated schoolteacher Theresa Dunn spends her nights cruising bars, looking for males with whom she can engage in progressively dangerous extreme sexual encounters.

Cast

  • Diane Keaton
  • Tuesday Weld
  • William Atherton
  • Richard Kiley
  • Richard Gere
  • Alan Feinstein
  • Tom Berenger
  • Priscilla Pointer
  • Laurie Prange
  • Joel Fabiani

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.6
17.2K
11.4K
4.4K
RATINGS 92 FANS
3.6
  • Oct 15, 2025

    I actually have to state that I love these ambiguous films that I have been enjoying as of late. No necessary back narrative but just showing enough damage cause you can conflate it to Catholic guilt or as oppressed male blaming it on the sexual prowess of female liberty at…

    259 Likes
    pirateneckbeard
    pirateneckbeard
    Dec 11, 2016

    A young woman just beginning her career as a school teacher for young deaf children must cope with personal, sexual frustrations. She pursues a promiscuous lifestyle in the evening in an attempt to remedy these frustrations. - I knew I loved this movie during the first…

    246 Likes
    Erin: A Witch Goes Boating
    Erin: A Witch Goes Boating
    Jul 1, 2025

    It turns out the men have never really been all right. I admit I remain stumped about how we’re meant to read the end of this movie.  The wife and the nanny hadn’t seen it before, didn’t know it was coming…and they found it shocking and upsetting.  Well, it is.  At least…

    222 Likes
    carrieandtracy
    carrieandtracy
  •
    Jan 30, 2023

    bless any movie with a title sequence that uses so much licensed music it becomes unrereleasable

    208 Likes
    Liz
    Liz
    Aug 13, 2016

    "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God." The sound of Diane Keaton's character having an orgasm (x3) or the sound of a completely unaware audience witnessing the end of this one for the first time in a packed NYC auditorium on a 100 degree day? Both. Richard Gere's glowing…

    163 Likes
    Justin LaLiberty
    Justin LaLiberty
    Oct 11, 2025

    I've watched this several times (and read the book) because I wrote one of the essays in the Vinegar Syndrome 4K restoration that came out last year and every time I watch it I find new layers of brilliance, both in Keaton's fearless performance, but also in Brooks'…

    147 Likes
    Marya E. Gates
    Marya E. Gates
  •
    May 5, 2022

    Well, ok, this was.... something. This is one of those films that I remember someone recommending or reviewing for me and it caught my eye and I added it to my list, but I haven't thought about it since then and don't remember anything about it. Thus, I was totally caught…

    134 Likes
    Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine
    Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine
    Jan 7, 2026

    I do love the Keaton performance but kind of a nasty slog generally. watched the VS 4k

    137 Likes
    David Sims
    David Sims
    Jun 30, 2021

    This film is so terrifying and the scariest part is that it's been over forty years since it came out and nothings changed. Men haven't changed like I still encounter very similar guys to the ones in this movie on dating apps. The ending was just so scary for me to watch…

    111 Likes
    Mariah
    Mariah
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Atom Users Reviews

No one has posted a user review yet.

Metacritic

64
metacritic
Based on 9 Critics
8.0

USER SCORE (5)

Generally favorable reviews based on 5 Reviews
75

The performance and the character are fully realized, even in this movie that finds room for so many loose ends and dead ends.

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Metacritic review by Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
70

What makes the film — which Richard Brooks directed and scripted, adapting Judith Rossner’s bestselling 1975 novel of the same name — so fascinating and repellent at once is precisely the confusion and anxiety it articulates about women’s sexual freedom.

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Metacritic review by Melissa Anderson
Melissa Anderson
Village Voice
See All Critic Reviews on Metacritic.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) family-friendly?
The movie has been rated as R, meaning that Under 17 requires an adult accompaniment.
How long is Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)?
The movie is 2hr 16min long.
What's Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) about?
Dedicated schoolteacher Theresa Dunn spends her nights cruising bars, looking for males with whom she can engage in progressively dangerous extreme sexual encounters.
Who's the cast of Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)?
  • Diane Keaton as Theresa Dunn
  • Tuesday Weld as Katherine Dunn
  • William Atherton as James
  • Richard Kiley as Mr. Dunn
  • Richard Gere as Tony
  • Alan Feinstein as Martin Engle
  • Tom Berenger as Gary
  • Priscilla Pointer as Mrs. Dunn
  • Laurie Prange as Brigid
  • Joel Fabiani as Barney
Who's the director behind Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)?
Richard Brooks directed Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977).
Who produced Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)?
Freddie Fields produced Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977).