Themes: One Against the Mob, Gender-Bending, Hired Killers
Main Cast: Jack Weston, Rita Moreno, Jerry Stiller, Kaye Ballard, F. Murray Abraham
Release Year: 1976
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
With The Ritz, Terrence McNally's hit Broadway play of the same name is cinematized by director Richard Lester. Jack Weston plays Gaetano Proclo, a minor mob flunky who's been targeted for elimination by his brother-in-law, Carmine Vespucci (Jerry Stiller). Gaetano takes refuge in what he thinks is a Turkish bath. Actually, it's The Pits. That's the name, "The Pits" -- a gay bathhouse (this is the pre-AIDS era), where the exquisitely awful Googie Gomez (Rita Moreno) entertains the homosexual patrons with her ear-splitting renditions of such show tunes as "Everything's Coming Up Roses." Hoping to save his neck by pretending to be gay, Gaetano effusively praises Googie. Assuming that he is a big-time Broadway producer, she plays up to him. Everything would be hunky-dory, except that the bathhouse is owned by the very mob that has put a contract on Gaetano. What follows is an old-fashioned door-slamming farce, except that there are no doors to slam. The supporting cast includes Kaye Ballard, Treat Williams, George Coulouris, F. Murray Abraham, Dave King, and (as one of the patrons) a pre-Cheers John Ratzenberger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Always amusing and frequently very funny, there's a lot that is very right with The Ritz. Writer Terrence McNally has created a can't-miss premise and has built a solid, sturdy structure around it. He has peopled his farce with a wide range of types, and has put the main character in a life-or-death situation so that he has more than sufficient motivation. And of course the setting and gay angle give it a twist that, especially at the time of its release, is different. Director Richard Lester has added some nice touches (such as the lava lamp in the otherwise ornately Italian home at the start of the film) and has gathered a great cast. Jack Weston projects the right combination of vulnerability and exasperation, Jerry Stiller is properly single-minded, and Rita Moreno is a wonderful mix of self-delusion, steely ambition, and freakish exhibitionism. Treat Williams makes his potentially irritating character endearing, and F. Murray Abraham steals the scene every time he has a chance. Yet with all these assets, The Ritz remains a good film rather than a classic farce. McNally has failed to come up with enough jokes and sufficiently big pay-offs to situations, and there are crucial moments that don't ring true. (Why, for example, would Weston agree to perform in the very public talent show when his brother-in-law is literally gunning for him -- especially when the drag outfit he wears is neither sufficiently believable as a disguise nor sufficiently amusing as audience entertainment?) Lester also falls down on the job too often, allowing pacing to lag unacceptably in spots and not giving the film the visual energy from which it would benefit. Despite these flaws, however, The Ritz remains an enjoyably silly affair with some wonderful moments. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Treat Williams - Michael Brick; John Everson - Tiger; Christopher J. Brown - Duff; Dave King - Abe; George Coulouris - Old Man Vespucci; John Ratzenberger - Bath Patron; Chris Harris - Patrons; Freddie Earle - Disgruntled Patron; Richard Holmes - Pianist; Bart Allison - Old Priest; Ben Aris - Cyclist; Ronnie Brody - Small Patron; Peter Butterworth - Patron In Chaps; Tony de Santis - Sheldon Farenthold; Hal Galili - Patron With Cigar; Leon Greene - Musclebound Patron; Bessie Love - Maurine; Samantha Weyson - Gilda Proclo; Hugh Fraser - Disc Jockey; Paul Price - Claude Perkins
Credit
Mary Selway - Casting, Evangeline Harrison - Costume Designer, Vangie Harrison - Costume Designer, Dusty Symonds - First Assistant Director, Richard Lester - Director, John Bloom - Editor, Ken Thorne - Composer (Music Score), Paul Rabiger - Makeup, Chic Waterson - Camera Operator, Philip Harrison - Production Designer, Paul Wilson - Cinematographer, Denis O'Dell - Producer, Colin Chilvers - Special Effects, Roy Charman - Sound/Sound Designer, Gerry Humphreys - Sound/Sound Designer, Terrence McNally - Screenwriter, Terrence McNally - Play Author
