Looking for Mr. Goodbar

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**Title** **Looking for Mr. Goodbar**

Author	Judith Rossner
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Released	May 1975
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	284 p. (hardback edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0-671-22025-X (hardback edition) & ISBN 0-671-73575-6 (paperback edition)

Looking for Mr. Goodbar

Directed by	Richard Brooks
Produced by	Freddie Fields
Written by	Judith Rossner (novel) Richard Brooks (screenplay)
Starring	Diane Keaton Tuesday Weld Richard Gere
Cinematography	William A. Fraker
Editing by	George Grenville
Release date(s)	October 19, 1977 (United States)
Running time	135 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Looking for Mr. Goodbar is a 1975 novel by Judith Rossner, and a 1977 film starring Diane Keaton, Tuesday Weld, and Richard Gere. Rossner based the novel on the events surrounding the brutal murder of Roseann Quinn, a 28-year-old New York City schoolteacher in 1973. The film was nominated for two Oscar prizes; Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Cinematography; was nominated for the Best Actress Golden Globe; and received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A prologue of the confession of the murder of Theresa Dunn, the novel's protagonist. Theresa, a schoolteacher, often visits bars late at night when she is unable to sleep, picking up men and taking them back to her studio apartment. After copulating with them, she has them leave; never letting a man spend an entire night with her. The man who kills her does so after being told to leave, and becomes so infuriated that he hits her over the head with a lamp, smothers her with a pillow, and stabs her repeatedly.

Spoilers end here.

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[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The 1977 film starring Diane Keaton traces the sexual awakening of a young teacher searching for excitement outside of her mundane existence. Originally in search of the "perfect man", whom she refers to as "Mr. Goodbar", she begins losing control of her life as her sexual appetite grows. Quiet and reserved teacher by day, sexual deviant and bar-hopper by night, Keaton begins to dabble in drugs and unstable men. Her self-destructive behavior is a means of escaping her numbing existence and of testing the boundaries of her otherwise safe life. One such sexual partner, played by Richard Gere, turns jealous and possessive, and begins to threaten her life. Ultimately, her sexual addiction and high risk behavior put her life in danger.

This sexual thriller can be interpreted as a warning to young women choosing to explore their sexuality, pointing out the dangers of bringing home strange men, however, it more accurately explores the emotions which sexuality evokes. Keaton's character is strong and confident in her sexuality, while the men she sleeps with are insecure, angry, and primally instinctive in their actions.