The Ritz (1976)

Comedy • R • Directed by: Richard Lester • 91 minutes

New York, 1976. When nerdy Cleveland native Gaetano Proclo discovers that his mobster brother-in-law has ordered a hit on him, he desperately begs his cab driver to take him to the last place the mafia would look for him--and finds himself inside The Ritz. The clueless Proclo (Jack Weston) slowly realizes that his hideout is a swinging gay bathhouse. And the patrons never do discover that the chubby Proclo has not come looking for a sexual encounter. Now, Proclo not only ducks assassins, but also a squeaky-voiced private detective (Treat Williams), an amorous chubby chaser and the one-and-only cabaret singer Googie Gomez (Rita Moreno), who mistakes Proclo for a Broadway producer in this hilarious comedy of errors. Based on the hit Broadway comedy by Terrence McNally.