Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)

So much average

Simply A Masterpiece

Good movie but grossly overrated

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

When I was a little kid, my parents let me watch most anything back in the early days of cable TV. The Blues Brothers, Caddyshack, Alien...I saw a lot of grown-up stuff in the late 70s/early 80s, barely out of kindergarten. But not this one. The night my mother was planning to watch this, I was sent to bed. After finally watching the whole thing, its easy to see why. Looking for Mr. Goodbar is a sexed-up misogynistic tale of a young teacher (Keaton), raised in a strict Catholic home, now on her own and eagerly diving into the swingin' 70s singles bar scene. After a rugged affair with her jerk of a teacher, she moves on to a series of increasingly intense affairs and drug use. As one would expect, it can be difficult to be an effective teacher of hearing-impaired students if you're living such a raging lifestyle every night. Clearly something has to give. After seemingly seeing the light Keaton makes the mistake of going home with the wrong guy, with terrifying results.The biggest problems with this film are the (likely) exaggerated scene she falls into, and the lack of any kind of likable male character. William Atherton (the jerk in so many 80s movies) is a sensitive-seeming lover. Every time it seems Keaton is making anything deeper than a superficial connection with him, she pushes him away. Though they weren't yet major stars, you wish we would learn more about Richard Gere, Levar Burton, and especially Tom Berenger's characters. You'll see why if you watch this. You'll want to know their backstories to see what made them either dangerous or impenetrable. Keaton is terrific. She went all out for this role, at a time in her career when it probably made more sense to play it safe. Even though she is making such terrible decisions, but you end up feeling sorry for her since most men in her life treat her worse than dirt. The disco soundtrack is outstanding. And how about hearing legendary broadcaster Johnny Most talk about Boston Celtic basketball in the background of the family home? A nice touch. Also it was interesting how we see detailed teaching techniques for hearing-impaired kids. This film could have merely glossed over that, but they didn't. The film is difficult to watch at times, but you won't likely turn it off. 7 of 10 stars.The Hound.

Odd, very scattered movie about a woman who goes down a road to ruin through random hook-ups, drugs, and encounters with violent men.Screenwriter/Director Richard Brooks has done very good work before ("In Cold Blood"). But, here, the narrative is all over the place. The film begins with Diane Keaton's character having waking fantasies, but they are awkwardly edited in. Brooks then has real problems in constructing the story throughout.There was a novel, and I have no idea if it had the same problems or not. Regardless, Brooks should have thought this out a lot better.Diane Keaton is fine in the lead. The acting otherwise ranges from seriously overcooked to passive-aggressive. The result of the writing and overacting leads to melodrama, where the movie could have told a much more interesting story.For instance, the guy playing Keaton's father is this borderline-psychotic Catholic character who is endlessly screaming and yelling at his daughters when they don't toe the line according to his hard-right religious ideals.A very odd disappointment that could, and should, have been a lot better.Plus, you can see what's going to happen by film's end coming a billion miles away!**** (4 Out of 10 Stars)

A movie that can make even the most jaded viewer dead silent as the end credits roll.Following the sexual exploits of a newly independent woman beginning with an infidelity with her college professor then escalating into a wild singles scene that includes a hopped-up gigolo (Richard Gere), cocaine and a score of random sexual encounters, "In Cold Blood" Director Richard Brooks juggles Keaton's wild nightlife, her day job as a deaf-school teacher, and her frustrating family squabbles with style and ease, sporadically glimpsing into her vividly morbid imagination as if it were really happening.Many films about a character's escalation into an out of control lifestyle will have a message intact, but Brooks brings the viewer so close to the madness it all seems normal somehow, making the odyssey more energetically adventurous than foreboding.Keaton has never been so good, flawlessly mixing determination, sensuality, stubbornness and vulnerability. This one will stick with you.

I saw "Mr. Goodbar" at a film festival screening, several years after it's initial release. In some ways (none of them good), this movie has haunted me ever since. I can still recall feeling strangely perturbed and confused as the film neared it's final minutes. I guess I expected that the ending would somehow magically bring the preceding grimy and occasionally chaotic events into some sort of focus.All I got from that ending was a brutal stomach ache similar to the lingering pain induced by a cheap sucker punch to the gut. I will readily admit to having gained no further understanding or insight into this film over the years. I still can't imagine why anyone would make a film like this, or what possible value or entertainment viewers derived from it.For me, Diane Keaton's performance is the only thing in the movie that keeps it from getting the lowest vote. That she managed to project some warmth and humanity from such a crudely drawn, relentlessly sad, and gratuitously self-destructive character, only made the ending that much more horrific and senseless. It's easily one of the worst experiences I've ever had in a movie theater.