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..!

Ballard are perfectly cast in their roles, but would you believe F. Murray Abraham Oscar winner for AMADEUS as the screaming queen to end all screaming queens? How about Rita Moreno as a no-talent lounge singer who is busting a gut to become a bath-house star just like Bette Midler? Or Treat Williams as a P.I. with blonde hair and a squeaky voice? My own favorite of the bunch is Paolo Poeti as Claude, a "chubby chaser" who takes one look at Jack Weston and falls in love at first sight--and then proceeds to make his life absolute hell by chasing him all over the bath house. Before it's all over you'll find people hiding under beds, thrown into swimming pools, impersonating the Andrews Sisters, and being pursued by unwanted lovers of the wrong persuasion, all to absolutely hilarious, incredibly giddy effect.Like most farces, THE RITZ deals in stereotypes--but it is never mean spirited in its portraits, and the cast carries off the eccentric characters both straight and gay with considerable aplomb. Filmed long before the AIDS crisis, THE RITZ offers a comic look at a New York gay bath house and a way of life that would soon come to a grinding halt--a fact that gives the film a certain unintended poignancy for gay viewers. Even so, you don't need any specialized background to enjoy this laugh-out-loud movie, which is as much and really more for a straight audience as it is for a gay one. Highly, highly recommended... call over some friends, turn up the steam heat, break out some bath towels, and get ready for a true laugh riot.Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

confused identities and chases in and out of rooms, we also meet the immensely untalented Googie Gomez hysterically funny Rita Moreno who sings at the clubs, hosts the talent show, and is always on the lookout for a big-time producer. Of course Weston and Williams assume she's a male transvestite.Stiller soon arrives and starts shooting up the place, but he's followed by his wife Kaye Ballard who is assumed to be a man! Stiller and Ballard arrive as the talent show opens with Moreno fracturing lyrics in Puerto Rican as she sings "Everything's Coming Up Rose's" and "Begin the Beguine." Moreno specializes in show tunes since she was fired from both "The Sound of Music" and "Camelot" by the infamous producer Seymour Pippin.Everything comes to a head when Weston, Price, and Abraham disguise themselves as the Andrews Sisters to hide from Stiller. They mime a funny "Gay Caballero" number and bring down the house.Many of the stars here were in the original Broadway production: Moreno who won a Tony Award , Weston, Abraham, Stiller, Price, and the chorus boys John Everson and Christopher J. Brown . And along with Williams and Ballard, we also have Bessie Love Maurine and Dave King as Abe co-starring. And look for John Ratzenberger TV's "Cheers" and Peter Butterworth and Leon Greene both from "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" .Although the film takes place in a gay bath house, the film is extremely funny and not offensive. This is a sweet, pre-AIDS gay comedy with a terrific cast.

and having fun yet. In fact, during her show to only about 40 of us, she commented on "those bastards" not getting us down and she put on a fantastic show. Then after the show, she came out and spoke with everyone and was well received. However as I said when I mentioned to her how much I loved "her" Googie Gomez, her entire body language, tone and attitude changed to me. She immediately changed the subject and when I brought up Googie again, she really seemed "pissed off."Does anyone have any thoughts about this or have they encounter Ms. Moreno, who is still tops in my book.

story could have been transplanted with relative easy, only losing some bite and a few twists.Second, that the setting, which was very timely for the mid-seventies, was the very thing that provided the twists that made the movie so hilarious and unique. At the time of the Ritz's theatrical release gay bathhouses were the subject of much discussion, and drew a certain level of public disapproval and debate.Third, that good snapshots of a particular time do not necessarily seem all that appealing in retrospect - usually because they capture the warts-ridden realities. In the seventies this seemed understood, and a number of movies exploited this fact, having at their hearts a meanness about the times being portrayed. With the eighties there seemed to be a desperate need for unconditional nostalgia, and since then a number of great movies have lost their once-acknowledged significance why do so few people, other than movie critics, fondly remember America Graffiti while the saccharine Grease is so celebrated? .Too bad, particularly for a movie like The Ritz; it may have been the last great farce, with its superb cast - Moreno and Williams both pull out all the stops - fantastic timing, and outrageous gags. And it could only have managed to be a great farce in the very jaded seventies by dealing with such timely subject matter.Hopefully the film will be rediscovered via a film festival, or a more serious Remember When television or radio show. However, I fear that popular culture has grown far too shallow, and, despite all the avenues for cultural archeology, films such as The Ritz have been buried way too deep by the sands of time.

that, in a mostly packed theater, it seemed that most of the time the two of us near the back were the only ones laughing. Oh, every once and while the Farsi sub-titles would catch-up and the rest of the theater would let out a good laugh, I guess they were having a good time, but it was amazing to us how much was being missed, even some of the visual humor.I suppose we were both just overdo for some comic relief, but I've watched this film again through the years and it remains one of the funniest films I have ever seen. Jack Weston as the everyman-victim is perfect, as is Rita Morena as a never-quite-been, trying with varying degrees of success, to retain her dignity, her temper, and her dreams. And the rest of the cast -- who can you fault? Yes, from the dark opening deathbed scene, to all the madcap mistakes that follow, this is farce that at times sinks almost as low as the Three Stooges, but keeps sailing from floor to floor with surprise laughs at every turn.Some folks can't seem to get past the subject matter, I guess. But if you can find this movie, and you can open your mind beyond the lifestyle to just enjoy all the zaniness that happens, then hang on to your towel!

job bringing Googie Gomez back to life on Broadway.