The Ritz

On his deathbed Carmine Vespucci's father tells him to "get Proclo". With "the hit" on, Gaetano tells a cab driver to take him where Carmine can't find him. He arrives at the Ritz, a gay bathhouse where he is pursued amorously by "chubby chaser" Paul B. Price and by entertainer Googie Gomez who believes him to be a broadway producer. His guides through the Ritz are gatekeeper Abe, habitue Chris, and bellhop/go-go-boys Tiger and Duff. Squeaky-voiced detective Michael Brick and his employer Carmine do locate Gateano at the Ritz, as does his wife Vivian.
Written by Ed Stephan {stephan@cc.wwu.edu}




At the Ritz, the rates are low, the decor is rococo art deco and the clientele is...convivial. As Cleveland sanitation company owner Gaetano Proclo reasons, this New York all-male bathhouse is the perfect place to hide from his murder-minded brother-in-law Carmine. But what Gaetano and his fellow bathhouse patrons get is an exercize in wild, manic mayhem from director Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night, two Superman films), bringing Terrence McNally's hit Broadway farce to spicy screen life. Four of this film's stars also spiced up its stage life: original cast members Jack Weston as Gaetana, Jerry Stiller as Carmine, future Amadeus Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham as a sardonic Ritz regular and especially Rita Moreno as bubble-brained torch singer Googie Gomez, a riotous performance that won her a Tony Award. Kaye Ballard, Treat Williams and Paul B. Price add to the tasty guest list. So check into The Ritz. You'll have roomfulls of laughter to check out.
Written by MhatBernstein {mbbernstein@ucdavis.edu}




SYNOPSIS

Gaetano Proclo (Jack Weston) is present with his wife's (Kay Ballard) family at her father's deathbed. Her father has never liked his son-in-law and before he dies, asks his son (Jerry Stiller), to kill him. Since theirs is a mob family, Gaetano takes the threat seriously and he runs, asking the cab driver to take him someplace where the Vespucci's will never find him. The cab driver's answer? The Ritz. The Ritz is a typical 1970's gay bath house. Here you meet Chris ( F. Murray Abraham), a regular visitor who's on the prowl for the newest and/or hottest guy he can find. Also there's Claude Perkins (Paul B. Price), a chubby-chaser who takes a shine to Gaetano. Unfortunately for Gaetano, the cab driver was in the employ of his in-laws and so he tells them where he went. They send in Micheal Brick (Treat Williams) who speaks with a very high voice. Also here is a really bad performer, Googie Gomez (played by the talented Rita Moreno) who is playing the bath houses for now and hoping to hit it big. She vascillates between looking for a producer that she was told would be in the audience (with whom she has a long and uncomfortable history) and decrying the belief of some that she is a drag queen. The result is a grand chase and a lot of laughs in very 1970's style.