The Ritz (film)

The Ritz

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Lester
Produced by Denis O'Dell
Written by Terrence McNally
Based on The Ritz
by Terence McNally
Starring
Music by Ken Thorne
Cinematography Paul Wilson
Edited by John Bloom
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release dates
  • August 12, 1976 (1976-08-12)
Running time
 91 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Ritz is a 1976 American film directed by Richard Lester based on the play of the same name by Terrence McNally. Actress Rita Moreno, who had won a Tony Award for her performance as Googie Gomez in the 1975 Broadway production, and many others of the original cast like Jack Weston, Jerry Stiller, and F. Murray Abraham, reprise their onstage roles in the film version. Also in the cast were Kaye Ballard and Treat Williams. The film, Jack Weston, and Rita Moreno all received Golden Globe nominations in the comedy category. It opened to mixed reviews.

Plot

A farce is set in a gay bathhouse in Manhattan, where unsuspecting heterosexual Cleveland businessman Gaetano Proclo (Jack Weston) has taken refuge from his homicidal mobster brother-in-law, Carmine Vespucci (Jerry Stiller). There, Gaetano stumbles across an assortment of oddball characters, including a rabid chubby chaser, go-go boys, a squeaky-voiced detective, and Googie Gomez, a third-rate Puerto Rican entertainer with visions of Broadway glory who mistakes him for a famous producer and whom he mistakes for a man in drag. Further complications arise when Gaetano's wife Vivian (Kay Ballard) tracks him down and jumps to all the wrong conclusions about his sexual orientation.

Cast

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 40% of five surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 5.6/10.[1] Film critic Roger Ebert rated it 2.5/4 stars and wrote that the film desires to be a screwball comedy but "lacks the manic pacing, and the material grows thin".[2]

DVD

The Ritz was released to DVD by Warner Home Video on January 8, 2008.

References

  1. ↑ "The Ritz (1976)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2014-12-06.
  2. ↑ Ebert, Roger (1976-10-12). "The Ritz". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2014-12-06.

See also

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