Looking for Mr. Goodbar
A dedicated teacher’s secret nightlife spirals into a bleak collision of sexual compulsion, drugs, and urban danger.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- grim
- harrowing
- intimate
- serious movie night
- 1970s cinema retrospective
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a compelling but uneven adult drama, elevated by Diane Keaton’s performance and its unflinching treatment of sexual and emotional self-destruction.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Theresa teaches deaf children with dedication by day while pursuing increasingly dangerous sexual and drug-related encounters at night.
Theresa’s nighttime cruising develops from sexual craving into drug use and increasingly demeaning situations.
Theresa seeks abusive men in bars and enters progressively violent sexual encounters.
Bars, gigolos, disco culture, and anonymous nighttime encounters shape Theresa’s private world.
Films like Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and why
Midnight Cowboy
shared new hollywood realism, sexual transgression, and psychologically destructive nightlife
Five Easy Pieces
shared adult urban alienation, compulsive behavior, and grim social realism
The Last Picture Show
shared erotic danger, nightlife culture, and morally unsettling character drama
An Unmarried Woman
shared 1970s sexual politics, abrasive intimacy, and emotionally raw performances
Movie Details
- Director
- Richard Brooks
- Release Date
- 1977-10-19
- Runtime
- 136 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (135)
Cast
- Diane Keaton
- Tuesday Weld
- William Atherton
- Richard Kiley
- Richard Gere
- Alan Feinstein
- Tom Berenger
- Priscilla Pointer
- Laurie Prange
- Joel Fabiani
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Looking for Mr. Goodbar about?
- A dedicated teacher’s secret nightlife spirals into a bleak collision of sexual compulsion, drugs, and urban danger.
- What is Looking for Mr. Goodbar like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Looking for Mr. Goodbar as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Looking for Mr. Goodbar violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Looking for Mr. Goodbar as graphic.
- What did critics think of Looking for Mr. Goodbar?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a compelling but uneven adult drama, elevated by Diane Keaton’s performance and its unflinching treatment of sexual and emotional self-destruction.
- Which films are like Looking for Mr. Goodbar?
- Films with a similar feel include Midnight Cowboy, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Picture Show, and An Unmarried Woman.
- How long is Looking for Mr. Goodbar?
- Looking for Mr. Goodbar runs 136 minutes.
- Where can I watch Looking for Mr. Goodbar?
- In United States, Looking for Mr. Goodbar is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
