The Ritz

source: The Ritz

Trailer—The Ritz

The Ritz

A rare gem from 1976 !! The critics got this one totally wrong. A hilarious romp through a 70s gay bathhouse. You can certainly enjoy this bathhouse without worrying about wearing condoms, thongs, a towel, and anything else to protect you from STDs. great performances by everyone especially Rita Moreno .

First seen in 1976 as a trailer to main movie, it proved to be one of the most memorable films I have ever seen. Much of its commentary is starkly relevant today. Rita Morino was so outrageous, her lines have stayed in my head all these years!! It (somewhat sarcastically)challenged the stereotypes of gays, drag queens, Italian families, and societal values/conceptions in general. Each actor plays their part to a tee......so very convincingly. This is a comedy classic. A funny, pleasing film which, without offending, leaves one feeling good about themselves - gay and straight alike.

Why is this great comedy not available in the US? When I checked the listings, it's only on a PAL VHS tape ... I can view other region DVDs on my computer, but have no way of viewing PAL VHS. This movie which I saw several times when it was new, is one of the funniest films you'll ever see. It's based on a Broadway play but you'd never guess its source as, unlike many movies made from plays, it's not stagebound. The characters and the situation make for nonstop action and absolutely terrific one-liners. Treat Williams is indeed well named for he is a treat as the detective. You'll howl at the predicaments Jack Weston gets in. And you'll love Rita Moreno who proves to be a comedic gem. "The Ritz" is high on the list of best cinematic comedies and whoever owns the rights should release it in a wide-screen DVD version. It's sort of like a Noel Coward play updated to a "modern" bathhouse ... jokes on the screen overflow to keep the viewers happy and having a terrific time.

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.

This has got to be one of the funniest films I've seen, Rita Moreno is excellent as Googie Gomez failed Broadway star and now singing in "the pits" at the Gay bathhouse "The Ritz"...Treat Williams had me in stitches with his voice and Jack Weston is superb as the man on the run and hiding "in the last place anyone would look for me"...Although this harks back to a time now gone the comedy is still as fresh as ever. Look out for the "Chubby Chaser" who constantly refuses to have anything to do with Lean muscled Treat because he's too skinny and chases Jack Weston around from start to finish! And the Andrews Sisters skit is a hoot.... If you haven't seen this film what are you waiting for..!

I've been in places like this on nights like this! I can SWEAR that stuff like this actually happens! Some friends showed this to me, just to see my reaction to it. I'd read the play, so Treat Williams' voice wasn't too much of a surprise. However, F. Murray Abraham answering the phone pretty much induced oxygen deprivation, I laughed so hard! It's not really meant to provide any great insight on "the gay lifestyle", but it shows that whatever your propensity, a well-paced screwball bedroom farce is hard to come by.

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.