Following the Vietnam War and the Richard Nixon era in the United States, the public was ready to end the ’70s on an upbeat note. Though blockbuster hits such as Star Wars and Grease provided escapist entertainment on the big screen, there were still bleak pictures similar to the ones at the start of the decade that reflected the dark realities of American life. 1977’s Looking for Mr. Goodbar examined the emotional and physical dangers of dating life in the big city.

The seedy character drama, directed by Richard Brooks (Blackboard Jungle, In Cold Blood), is a timeless cautionary tale about the mental toll of cruising for a hookup. As a similar picture of the era in Saturday Night Fever tapped into toxic masculinity around the disco scene, Goodbar depicted the dangers of women embracing single life while exploring intense sexual escapades with random men. While its star, Diane Keaton, was praised by the likes of legendary film critic Roger Ebert for making a rare character turn in contrast to Annie Hall, it was the presence of an unknown actor named Richard Gere that turned heads.

‘Looking for Mr. Goodbar’ Is Inspired by a True Story

Goodbar was inspired by the life of New York City schoolteacher Roseann Quinn, who was murdered at the hands of a random stranger she had an encounter with in 1973, resulting in a novel released two years later by Judith Rossner. Keaton plays a fictionalized version of Quinn named Theresa Dunn, a responsible role model to her students at a school for the deaf. Traumatized by years of difficult parents, refusing to bear children, and feeling heartbroken after her college professor boyfriend (Alan Feinstein) dumps her after taking her virginity, Theresa moves into the same building with her sister Katherine (Tuesday Weld) and begins frequenting the city bars to find love in all the wrong men.

One of those wrong men is a flamboyant drug dealer named Tony (Gere) who not only sleeps with Theresa but also gets her addicted to cocaine. In contrast, she romances social worker James (William Atherton), who would rather have a serious relationship with conditions rather than one-night stands. The nightlife cruising starts to take a toll on Theresa’s job, her family, and her well-being. Only when she starts to turn her life around does another sexual encounter lead to a living nightmare.

Goodbar nearly captures the magnetic, thriving club scene of the late ‘70s without Saturday Night Fever’s flashy lights and fashion. It is the type of environment that someone as lonely as Theresa would be seduced by. She can drop the baggage of her daytime responsibilities to transform into an aggressive manhunter. But what she often finds is a cold, hard reality in every encounter: good-looking men who act as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Yet, no matter how much danger she faces from the likes of Tony providing Quaaludes to counteract the cocaine, the random hookups become the real addiction.

Richard Gere Made a Lasting Impression in ‘Looking for Mr. Goodbar’

Not only was Keaton perfectly cast as the independent-minded Theresa, but it was also a performance far darker than The Godfather and any of her performances in Woody Allen films. For an actress known for embodying the everyday middle-aged woman on screen, Goodbar challenged Keaton to play a character who radiated charisma while desperately seeking something more lasting internally. She demonstrates her Oscar-winning talent by showcasing not only the moments when Theresa is in control of the flirtation at the bars but also when she’s not. Specifically, in a dialogue-less scene on Theresa’s first night alone in her apartment when she has trouble sleeping as Bill Withers’s song “She’s Lonely” blasts through the walls. The simple direction of putting a pillow between her legs instead of over her head displays the character’s need for the satisfaction she lacks.

Though Goodbar is Keaton’s vehicle, the film features several future stars early in their careers, including LeVar Burton as the brother of one of Theresa’s students and Tom Berenger as her last male encounter. But the standout is a then-28-year-old Gere as Tony. At first glance, he has undeniably handsome looks and a swagger to woo Theresa to bed. The images of Gere with the Freebird hairstyle and half-open shirt wearing only his underwear echoed young Marlon Brando in ways that oozed natural charisma. Even his love scene where Tony sets his sights on Theresa’s surgical scars adds to the sexual chemistry with Keaton. Yet, Gere added an extra layer of gritty intensity in the later scenes when he physically lashed out against Keaton’s rejections of a serious relationship that paved the way for his superstar turn as Julian Kay in American Gigolo.

Looking For Mr. Goodbar represented the last of the New Hollywood era of cinema before the ‘80s ushered in crowd-pleasing blockbusters to bring audiences joy. However, the themes of sexual liberation foreshadowed the consequences of a carefree period with the rise in AIDS awareness within the nightclub scene in the initial years after its release, making the film far more cautionary than what was intended.

Looking for Mr. Goodbar

Release Date

October 19, 1977

Runtime

135 minutes

Writers

Richard Brooks

Producers

Freddie Fields