Whether he was overseeing the exploits of the
Beatles, Superman, or the Three Musketeers, director Richard Lester always
demonstrated a special gift for complicated farce. That’s why he was an
excellent choice to make a film of Terrence McNally’s madcap play The Ritz, about a heterosexual guy who
avoids a hit man by hiding out in a New York City bathhouse. The question, of
course, is whether the material merited a director of Lester’s talents. For
some viewers, the answer might be yes. As a film, The Ritz is executed beautifully, with exuberant performances and
vivacious staging. Many of the running gags are amusing, and certain sequences
have a Marx Brothers-esque quality of fast-paced silliness.
Plus, even though
myriad stereotypes are presented, The
Ritz offers one of the warmest portrayals of gay life in any mainstream
’70s movie—amid the horny predators and screaming queens are everyday people
just looking for a good time. Obviously, one could question the choice of
putting so many straight characters at the center of this story, since gays are
largely relegated to supporting roles, but seeing as how homosexuals were still
being portrayed as murderous deviants in Hollywood films at the time The Ritz was released, that’s
nitpicking. Therefore, the truly relevant question is whether The Ritz works as pure entertainment. It
does, but only periodically.
After a quick prologue at a funeral, the story
proper begins when portly businessman Gaetano Procio (Jack Weston) rents a room
at the Ritz to avoid gunsels hired by his brother-in-law, Carmine Vespucci
(Jerry Stiller). Clumsy and provincial, Gaetano manages to catch the eye of
Chris (F. Murray Abraham), a would-be swinger; Claude (Paul B. Price), a fat
fetishist; and Googie (Rita Moreno), a showgirl who is performing at the
bathhouse. Each of these eccentric characters wants Gaetano for different reason.
(Naturally, some of the reasons are based on misunderstandings.) Also thrown
into the mix are a private detective, Michael (Treat Williams), and,
eventually, crazy Carmine himself. To get a sense of the movie’s vibe, picture
lots of running in and out of rooms, plenty of pretending, and voluminous
amounts of screaming. Driving the humor is old-fashioned gay panic, because
Gaetano spends most of the movie terrified he’ll be sodomized.
Usually cast as
a comic foil, Weston doesn’t bring much heat as a leading player, and he’s
prone to silly mugging. Happily, the supporting cast is strong. Abraham, Price,
and Williams attack their parts with gusto, while Moreno and Stiller frequently
approach comic brilliance. When it’s really cooking, The Ritz employs not only the whole cast but also the whole
eye-popping location of the bathhouse interior—for instance, the crazy finale involves
cross-dressing, a floor show, gunplay, and a swimming pool.
The
Ritz: FUNKY
