Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Director: Richard Brooks
Year Released: 1977
Rating: 1.0
First grade teacher of the deaf Theresa (Diane Keaton) - who comes from a strict Catholic upbringing - moves out of her parents' home and into her own apartment, where she spends her nights on the prowl for one-night-stands and drugs, until she runs into the wrong fellow (Tom Berenger). The novel, by Judith Rossner, is unfortunately based on a true story - that of teacher Roseann Quinn, who was killed by someone she picked up and (allegedly) mocked for not being able to 'perform' - but it's presented here as some dumb morality play, basically 'slut-shaming' its lead and making almost every male in it domineering, with only 'traditional' James (William Atherton) - a good Catholic boy! - trying to make a decent woman out of her (she rejects him, of course - and she has her tubes tied!). To top it all off, the murderer just has to be a closeted - and self-loathing - homosexual (sorry Mr. Berenger) to add to the idiocy. If you ever wanted to see Richard Gere wearing a jock strip and waving around a glow-in-the-dark knife, have I got the movie for you....