Directed by:
Billy WilderCinematography:
Luigi KuveillerComposer:
Carlo RustichelliCast:
Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills, Clive Revill, Edward Andrews, Pippo Franco, Yanti Somer, Gianfranco Barra, María Rosa Sclauzero, Ty Hardin, Janet Agren (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Jack Lemmon stars as Walter Armbruster in Wilder's leisurely romantic comedy set on the idyllic Mediterranean. When his father dies in a car crash on the isle of Ischia, the corporate executive quickly is on a plane. Once there, he learns from Pamela Piggott (Juliet Mills), a young Brit, that her mother, who was his father's mistress, was also killed. To make matter worse, bureaucratic rules prevent the release of the bodies for a few days. Not long after, both bodies are stolen from the morgue, and thieves are revealed to be an eccentric family of Italian vintners, who hold the corpses hostage until they are paid for the damage caused to their vineyard by the car crash. After reluctantly paying up, the irritable Walter returns to the hotel, where he even more reluctantly joins the free-spirited Pamela for a night of skinny-dipping. When a porter who attempts to blackmail the naked couple and is shot by his angry, very pregnant girlfriend, the hotel manager Carlucci (Clive Revill) is forced to put Walter and Pamela into the same room, while the murder investigation proceeds. Neither of them regrets his decision. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (3)
I tried watching Avanti! twice and in both cases I felt the same mild detachment and disinterest. I have a similar feeling about Wilder as I do about Hitchcock. I knew his most famous films and in my eyes, he was a flawless creator of perfect thrillers. However, over time I realized that he was also capable of mediocre films that left me puzzled. If there is something that works perfectly in Avanti!, it is the presence of the proven Jack Lemmon, who portrays what we are accustomed to seeing from him. However, he is unable to rely on such high-quality dialogues that made The Apartment and Some Like It Hot great comedies that have not aged even after all the years. The functional humor in this film is scarce - in fact, I cannot even remember genuinely laughing even once. I couldn't relate to the characters, and Juliet Mills in the role of Pamela didn't impress me either. Perhaps only the hotel manager, Mr. Carlucci, suited my image of a comedic figure and stood out in my eyes. I also have a problem with the theme. The way it casually deals with the motif of infidelity (actually justifying it in the name of romantic excitement) somewhat irritated me. Could it be that I'm becoming a moralist in my old age? If the film had a standard runtime of 90 minutes, I would give it 3 stars, but Wilder overreached and didn't understand that this script could not sustain 140 minutes. Unfortunately, at this length, the film clearly bores me at times. Overall impression: 45%.
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A thoroughly charming 70s American comedy. The 140-minute runtime didn’t bother me at all, because Juliet Mills, with her adorable, curvy appeal, perfectly embodies the spirit of the era.
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This comedy is meticulously crafted down to the smallest detail, with the wonderful duo of Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills and the magnificent Clive Revill as a professional hotelier who solves every problem without blinking and only sleeps in the winter. He was the one I enjoyed the most. It says this film is "almost as good as Some Like It Hot". Nonsense. It's much better. Despite the length, it entertains from beginning to end, and the many types of humor make it a balanced cocktail that is easy to drink.
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Gallery (54)
Photo © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
![Avanti! - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/161/484/161484582_271743.jpg)
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