Terence McNallys hit Broadway play The Ritz is given a fluid cinematic treatment by director Richard Lester. Jack Weston plays Gaetano Procio, a minor mob flunkey whos been targeted for elimination by his brother-in-law Carmine Vespucci (Jerry Stiller). Gaetano takes refuge in what he thinks is a Turkish bath. Actually, its The Pits. Thats the name, The Pits--a gay bathhouse (this is the pre-AIDS era), where the exquisitely awful Googie Gomez (Rita Moreno) entertains the homosexual patrons with her ear-splitting renditions of such show tunes as Everythings Coming Up Roses. Hoping to save his neck by pretending to be gay, Gaetano effusively praises Googie. Assuming that he is a big-time Broadway producer, she plays up to him. Everything would be hunky-dory, except that the bathhouse is owned by the very mob that has put a contract on Weston. What follows is an old-fashioned door-slamming farce, except that theres no doors to slam. The supporting cast includes such matchless scene-stealers as Kaye Ballard, Treat Williams, George Coulouris, F. Murray Abraham, Dave King, and (as one of the patrons) John Ratzenberger. Despite the touchiness of the subject matter, The Ritz is utterly harmless and always hilarious PG fare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide