Review of Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) by Ana V — 31 Jul 2014

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!