Looking for Mr. Goodbar [1977]
Based on the mid-'70s novel by Judith Rossner (which itself was based on a true story), this film was supposed to be the one that established Diane Keaton's credibility as a "serious" actress--and yet she won the Oscar for the other film she did the same year, Annie Hall. Still, Looking for Mr. Goodbar is a solid and intriguing film, which offered the first substantial film roles to Richard Gere and Tom Berenger. Keaton is a repressed Catholic school teacher who works with deaf children. In the midst of the sexual revolution, she discovers her own appetite for carnal pleasure--but tries to keep it physical, avoiding emotional entanglement, until she meets Mr. Really Wrong. Keaton is solid but director Richard Brooks can't keep this from dragging. --Marshall Fine