The Ritz

The AIDS epidemic, of course, put The Ritz into a no-play situation in that it gay characters intertwine in all sorts of partnerships...though never seen on screen. But all really know about life in the gay clubs as they existed prior to AIDS. Putting all of that aside, and looking at The Ritz as if in a time capsule, it is a riotous farce with stereotypical gays that are nonetheless wonderfully funny and somehow loving people. Rita Moreno, repeating her award-winning stage role, dominates the screen at every interval...and her 'performance' at the baths' pool is among the funniest scenes of the decade. Treat Williams is also paramount in the craziness wonder of the film. Yes, the story that holds the film together is nonsense, although played well enough by F. Murray Abraham, Kaye Ballard, et al. But the film, despite its strange place in history, makes you laugh...and laughter is a good thing. The people are not hurt and not put down. The 'bad guys' are absolutely ridiculous, and the gays are lovable. It may be a little socially unacceptable, but nonetheless still with us. Even Rosie Perez did a Broadway revival , to acclaim, even after the AIDS crisis was abating a little.

THE RITZ is a zany and broadly played little farce directed by Richard Lester. It is an adaptation of a Broadway play by Terrence McNally, later acclaimed for MASTER CLASS and the hit musical THE FULL MONTY. It is set in a New York club-bath for gays. Dying gang leader George Coulouris tells his son Jerry Stiller and daughter Kaye Ballard that he wants Ballard's husband, Jack Weston, a Cleveland sanitation company owner, to be killed. That's the only plot there is. Weston tells a cabbie to take him to a place where no one will suspect he is hiding. Enter "The Ritz," a seedily elegant gay paradise with its clients that include self-mocking F.Murray Abraham, and chubby-chaser Paul B. Price. The cast is uniformly amusing, especially Rita Moreno as Google Gomez, an untalented Latin singer whom Weston mistakes for a drag queen. She frequently steals the show from everyone. Moreno got a Tony Award for her Broadway portrayal of that role. Also good is the improbably squeaky-voiced detective played by Treat Williams. Some of the resulting mayhem is very funny indeed; some stretches are more ho-hum. Nevertheless, it is a generally successful piece of entertainment regardless of one's sexual orientation.

A man (Jack Weston} discovers his brother-in-law (Jerry Stiller)is trying to kill him. He gets into a cab and tells the cabdriver to take him where he won't be discovered. He's taken to the Ritz-a gay bathhouse.

This is an adaptation of a successful Broadway play. Most of the cast from the play recreate their parts in the movie including Rita Moreno who won a Tony for the play.

It's well-done with the cast going full force. The play was a slamming door farce that almost never works in movies but here it does. Also the movie is refreshingly non-homophobic. And Moreno and Treat Williams (as a detective) are hysterical. Worth watching.

No one shows this since the advent of AIDS. That's a pity, because if it isn't the funniest movie ever made, it's awfully close. Great adaptation of the Broadway hit play, with wonderful performances by Jack Weston, Rita Moreno, Jerry Stiller, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Price, and Treat Williams. I can't praise this one highly enough.

A well crafted, door-slamming comedy ala 'Noises Off' with a wonderful cast. Rita Moreno playing a no-talent bathhouse singer gives the performance of her lifetime (we all know how talented she really is, so seeing her 'off' is a lot of fun). Treat Williams is delicious as the soprano detective. Jack Weston, Paul B. Price, F. Murray Abraham, Kay Ballard and Jerry Stiller add their spices to this wonderful ensemble. It makes you wish that the days of the Continental Baths would come back - at least the wonderfully tacky shows at poolside!