Looking for Mr. Goodbar

Will they PLEASE release this on DVD! As of now, it's only available on PAN/SCAN VHS. ....Diane Keaton reinvents herself, going astray from her Annie Hall persona. Her character is complex and it's entertaining to watch her evolve or de-evolve. The mood is classic gritty 70's. Sometimes funny, sometimes sexy, sometimes bleak. ...The ending is of course what will stick with you forever. It's hard to tell what director Richard Brooks wanted to say with this, but none the less, it's a good ride. Highly recommended. Apparently it created quite a stir when it came out, and even today, critics like Leonard Maltin still bring it down saying it's lewd and pointless. You be the judge. Like it or not it's still a good period piece, showing the seedier side of one young woman's life in the city. I can't wait to get this and watch it again -- if the studio ever gets the nerve to release it. I give it a good 9/10.

Looking For Mr. Goodbar isn't exactly the kind of feel good movie you might want to pop in on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It's heavy - almost suffocatingly so at times. What it does offer is a great chance for Diane Keaton to play a very different kind of character. Her Theresa is nothing like her Annie Hall or Nina Banks and that's refreshing to see. It's also an excellent time capsule of New York City life in the 70's.

With an upbeat 70's disco soundtrack (odds are, you'll know most of the tunes), Looking For Mr. Goodbar tracks a schoolteacher looking for love, passion, and satisfaction anyway she can find it. Sometimes it leads to heartbreak, sometimes it leads to danger, but it always leads to depression for the audience.

It's been a long time since I've seen a film this aggressively depressing and cynical and, to be honest, it's hard for me to process. On one hand, Keaton's work is exceptional, but on the other hand, it's a pretty tough slog to sit through. One needs to be in the right frame of mind to make it through.

The movie really gets the whole 1970s drug sniffing, gay liberation, pro swinger pre aids lifestyle down, and then closes with what may be one of the most depressing endings ever shot for a movie. As we all know, Diane Keaton is the straight laced teacher by day, and bar hopper by night. Her Catholic background and domineering father all contribute to her rampant promiscuity, and she ends up paying for it in the end. Sad, because the sexual revolution of the time gave women the right to do what she does in the film without being called whores, and then she had to pay for it. Such a good flick though, although it could have used a little editing for time. See it, and decide for yourself. Highly recommended, and perfect depiction of a life that really is impossible to imagine in this day and age.

My wife has recently came across of a used vinyl somewhere titled "LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR" MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK and after noticed Diana Ross is listed she bought it for me for the price of... only $1!!! Despite it's almost 30 years old there are no scratches, excellent quality, sounds like new - unbelievable lucky, isn't she? :)

So here are the tracks:

Side 1 1. Theme from "LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR" (Don't Ask To Stay Until Tomorrow) 1:16 2. Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston 3:37 3. Lowdown - Boz Scaggs 3:19 4. Machine Gun - Commodores 2:45 5. Love Hangover - Diana Ross 3:47 6. She Wants To (Get On Down) - Bill Withers 3:15 7. Theme from "LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR" (Don't Ask To Stay Until Tomorrow) (Reprise) 2:24

Side 2 1. Theme from "LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR" (Don't Ask To Stay Until Tomorrow) (Vocal) - Marlena Shaw 4:08 2. She's Lonely - Bill Withers 5:04 3. Try Me I Know We Can Make It - Donna Summers 4:14 4. Back Stabbers - The O'Jays 3:06 5. Prelude To Love - Donna Summer 6. Could It Be Magic - Donna Summer 6:12

PS: there's no time printed for 2/5 - in fact there's no such track present on the disc but it's listed on the label.

I saw this movie when it came out in the '70's. Living in Marin County, we were all experimenting with our new freedom of sexuality, (Hot Tubs included). This movie should have been a wakeup call. But naive as I was, the night I saw the movie, my friend and I went to a local pub afterwards. I met a handsome fellow and he invited me to his home nearby, where he said he had a warm fire going. I told him of the movie and made him swear he wasn't a Mr. Goodbar (in a joking, yet serious way). But dummy me, I believed he was OK, and the man turned out to be someone you'd rather not go home with. Nothing too drastic happened, but I didn't go home with strangers again. I also became a "poster child" or should I say the voice of reason regarding the fact that "free love" was really not what we were looking for. Women are usually looking to be loved, and although we now had choices, this choice was a poor example of what we really needed.

Tonight my boyfriend and I were listening to Could It Be Magic by Barry Manilow, and I could picture the ending with that music playing and the lights flashing, and the rest of it which as you already know is unforgettable. So much so, that it's something I wouldn't want to see again. At my age now, it just might be a little too much for my heart to handle, LOL