Avanti! (1972)

The Area Problem

I am certain that a more conspicuous warning about the DVD Area would help people to decide about buyng Films.Providing a solution to the problem would be better yet. In my case, I manage to see "Avanti" in good conditions.
Best Regards,
Luiz Alcide de Oliveira. October 13, 2007

The Tagline Reads "Italy Was Full Of Surprises!" So Is This Well-Underated Gem!

When "Avanti!" was released in 1972, the world and its cinema had changed irrevocably. This gentle, slightly slow moving romantic-comedy about not-so-hip people had no real place in a film world gripped by gritty realism, escalating cursing and the depiction of ultra-violence. Still "Avanti!" (it means "forward") was nominated for 6 Golden Globes and won one - Best Comedy Actor for Jack Lemmon.

Produced and Directed by the incomparable Billy Wilder, it featured a fabulously inventive and witty script from the dynamite duo of Wilder and his long-time writing buddy I.A.L. Diamond. Check this out. Clive Revill (Nominated as Best Comedy Supporting Actor) is in the Hotel bus on route with Lemmon from the airport telling the busy executive of Armbruster Enterprises (his father's company) that all of Italy closes for lunch between one o'clock and four o'clock in the afternoon. The incensed and jittery Wendell is agog.
Jack Lemmon: "Three hours for lunch!"
Clive Revill: "Here we take our time...we cook our pasta...we drink our wine...we make our love..."
Jack Lemmon: "What do you do in the evening?"
Clive Revill: (Frowns) "We go home to our wives!"
"Avanti!" is full of stuff like this!

The story goes as so. Millionaire Wendell Armbrewster from Baltimore USA arrives in a hurry and ill-prepared in Italy to pick up the body of his father, killed in a car accident on the slopes of Naples. What he doesn't bargain for is that his bastion-of-morality father William was not alone in the car as it crashed into a vineyard. He was with his mistress Kate. In fact he'd gone to the beautiful and picturesque resort for 10 years to be with her. Both were in their late Sixties but giddily in love like kids.

On route (on the plane, boat and train) Wendell keeps meeting the prim and proper Penny Pritchett (a delightful and lovely Juliet Mills) from London, England. She seems to be everywhere he goes - and when she turns up at his hotel room too - Wendell works it out - she is the daughter of Kate, his father's mistress and there to pick up her mother's body! Italian shenanigans follow one after another to stave off the funeral in Baltimore the following Tuesday - the crafty Hotel staff trying to keep the scandal at bay, the ludicrous legal paperwork, no one works the weekends, missing bodies, more triplicate paperwork, blackmailing porters and vineyard guys, swimming naked to the rock their parents used to frequent and giving the local randy fishermen an eyeful (Mills has lovely breasts which Lemmon suddenly notices). And, of course, they slowly succumb to the magic of the place and fall in love themselves.

The humour is constant and the dialogue the same. For instance. Two zinc-lined coffins are needed from out of town before the bodies can be released, but the bodies get nicked by the vineyard guys who want compensation for their grapes "poisoned by death"! Lemmon listens to Hotel Owner's crafty and constant updates on their progress with increasing American uptightness. "Great! First we have two bodies and no coffins, now we have two coffins and no bodies!"

The two leads are of course part of the secret. As the years pass, your admiration for Jack Lemmon only grows. His range, his subtlety, the way he made it look easy - you realise how truly great an actor he was. He could do witty like no-one, crazy, charming, sensitive, uptight - but all the time with that everyman humanity that Jimmy Stewart had. Juliet Mills too - lovely, sexy in her way, sweet. She has a running joke about weight all through the film which she milks with subtlety and skill and provides exactly the right kind of gentle counter that Lemmon's character needs. Throw in a cast of brilliantly funny Italian locals, romantic locations and silly set-ups and you have a fantastic Sunday afternoon warmer. The print is also in beautiful shape.

This is the kind of film that makes me want to put a framed picture of Billy Wilder and his mischievious grin on the wall. And every time I pass it by, I'll look up at his beautiful lived-in face and I'll smile deep down inside. God bless you mate wherever you may be!

Do yourself a favour and check out this forgotten gem - or better still - buy it and keep it for that day you need a lift.

Arrivederci! Love birds! August 19, 2007

Simply wonderful

My dad and I loved Jack Lemmon to bits. Matter of fact, so much so, that when my dad died back in 1995, I wrote Jack, and told him how many fond memories I had of us, sitting at home, or at the cinema, watching his work. Just a month later, I got a smashing, signed black & white photo, where Jack wished me all the best and thanked me for a lovely letter.

Jack's The Apartment is among my top 5, desert island films. It could just as easily be this one.

Avanti is one of those movies that can only be a Billy Wilder/Jack Lemmon production. Anyone else just wouldn't do. The plot is neither naff, nor ropey, and everyone does a splendid job. The vistas and views of Italy are smashing and spot on, even though the story has that stage feel to it.

As is often the case with Jack Lemmons work, the humour is gut busting at times, without being forced. I can think of no other american actor with such an understaded dry wit as Jack, and that's one of the main reasons I love him. The other reason is easy to spot. He was such a loveable, everyman. Someone you would want as a friend, in part because you want to feel superior to someone, part because you want a friend you feel a need to take care of.

And, aside from anything else, for those of us who love that early 1970's look to movies, this really is a treat. The only other comedy I can think of that works as well as this, from the same period is Woody Allen's Play it again Sam.

I can only suggest that anyone who reads this treat themselves to this great gem!
July 29, 2007

Jack Gets His Kit Off (Juliet, Too!)

This is another gem from Billy Wilder. It's kind of a departure from his usual frenetic style. "Avanti!" is paced leisurely which is a blessing but a little bit of a curse. The movie is fine but the material doesn't warrant a running time of 2 hours 20 minutes. That quibble aside I like this movie alot. Jack Lemmon effortlessly contributes another fine performance as the industrialist who goes to Italy to claim his father's body only to find he died with his mistress in a car accident. Juliet Mills is equally fine as the mistress' daughter. Another quibble I had was the film portrays Mills as fat(?!) but she looked alright to me. The blossoming romance between Lemmon and Mills is not only believable but compelling. Clive Revill is an absolute delight as Lemmon's father's confidante. No Oscar nom for Clive(for the movie for that matter). Italy naturally looks great. Enjoy. May 25, 2007

my grandmother's favorite movie

I purchased Avanti for my 82 year old grandmother. It's her favorite movie, and she couldn't watch her copy of it anymore because it was a betamax. So I gave it to her on DVD for christmas and watched it with her the next day. I must say, it is a delightful movie. It's a love story, but it's also cute & funny (but I certainly wouldn't call it a 'romantic comedy'). Visually, the movie is stunning, with lots of gorgeous shots of the Italian seaside & countryside. The only weird part was that there are a couple of scenes that featured Juliet Mills topless or naked. For the most part, that's great -- Juliet Mills was a fox. But it's a little akward when your grandma is sitting right next to you! January 9, 2007

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