Cruising Bar

{{short description|1989 film by Robert Ménard}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Cruising Bar

| image = Cruising Bar poster.jpg

| caption =

| director = Robert Ménard

| producer =

| writer = Michel Côté
Robert Ménard
Claire Wojas

| starring = Michel Côté
Louise Marleau
Véronique Le Flaguais

| music = Richard Grégoire

| cinematography = Pierre Mignot

| editing = Michel Arcand

| distributor = Malofilm

| released = {{Film date|1989}}

| runtime = 96 minutes

| country = Canada

| language = French

| budget =

| gross = C$3.36 million (Canada){{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=November 19, 1990|page=56|title=Canadian Films At Home}}

}}

Cruising Bar is a 1989 Canadian comedy film, directed by Robert Ménard."Michel Cote Scores Big; Cruising Bar's success has turned actor into a movie star". Montreal Gazette, December 2, 1989. The film stars Michel Côté as four separate characters – Serge, a shy nerd; Patrice, a drug-addicted film and television stuntman; Jean-Jacques, a pompous yuppie; and Gérard, an unhappily married man – who are each out on Saturday night hoping to hook up with a woman."Actor four-faced and proud of it". Toronto Star, November 15, 1990.

The film's cast also includes Louise Marleau, Geneviève Rioux, Véronique Le Flaguais, Pauline Lapointe, Marthe Turgeon, Linda Sorgini and Tony Nardi.

The film was highly successful in Quebec, setting the province's then-record gross box office for its first week in theatres,{{cite news|title=Quebec comedy sets box-office record|work=Ottawa Citizen|date=October 17, 1989}} and later reaching the highest box office ever received in the province by a homegrown film{{cite news|title=Cruising Bar sets record|work=Montreal Gazette|date=November 21, 1989}} with a gross of C$3.36 million in Canada. It was not Quebec's most successful film of the year overall; although its box office in Quebec exceeded that of Denys Arcand's Jesus of Montreal, the Arcand film was more successful in English Canada and internationally.{{cite news|title=Badly needed: A Canadian movie hit|work=Toronto Star|date=January 13, 1990}}

The film received three Genie Award nominations at the 11th Genie Awards in 1990: Best Actor (Côté), Best Cinematography (Pierre Mignot) and Best Costume Design (Louise Labrecque)."Arcand's Jesus leads Genie race". Toronto Star, February 14, 1990. It did not win any of those awards, but Jacques Lafleur and Pierre Saindon were presented with a Special Achievement Genie for Make-Up."Bye Bye Blues trails with three awards Jesus swept: an even dozen Genies". The Globe and Mail, March 21, 1990.

A sequel film, Cruising Bar 2, was released in 2008."Older but not much wiser; The guys from Cruising Bar are back after 20 years, and the laughs are bittersweet". Montreal Gazette, June 21, 2008.