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Movies / On DVD / Avanti!
Avanti!

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Avanti! (1972)

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Reviews Counted:16

Fresh:13

Rotten:3

Average Rating:6.9/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 24 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: 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... 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. A relaxed, sardonic comedy, juxtaposing the uptight American with the laid back European, it makes many of the same points about the excesses of American life as his earlier films in a far more mellow style. [More]

Starring: Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills, Clive Revill, Edward Andrews

Starring: Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills, Clive Revill, Edward Andrews, Gianfranco Barra, Franco Angrisano

Director: Billy Wilder

Director: Billy Wilder
Producer: Billy Wilder
Screenwriter: Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond
Composer: Carlo Rustichelli

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jul 15, 2003

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Avanti!

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1 - 16 (sorted by date)
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There is a lot of Billy Wilder in [Avanti!], including the idea that age is a state of mind. The film doesn't all work, [but] when the rigid Armbruster warms up on a sunny rock,... Wilder is telling us something that is more than just fun.

Full Review Source: Bright Lights Film Journal | comment Comment
03/24/09
Tony Macklin
Tony Macklin
Bright Lights Film Journal

Wilder justifies this film's length (144 minutes) with its loving, carefree and even relaxing Italian vacation atmosphere.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
08/01/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

A delightful romantic comedy, Billy Wilder style, meaning that its romanticism is curdled and its comedy is amusingly dark.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/14/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Marvellous performances from Lemmon and Mills.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Weak Billy Wilder is worth a watch.

comment Comment
04/28/06
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

It has many delightfully absurd moments in which Jack Lemmon and Brit actress Juliet Mills thoroughly exploit to the fullest.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/20/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
07/01/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
06/26/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
04/07/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Avanti! isn't a laugh-a-minute kind of a movie, and it's too long by maybe half an hour.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 1 Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

A biting farce about an American in Italy, this gets great comic mileage out of Lemmon, Mills and the Mediterranean, but Wilder seems uncertain whether he's laughing with or at his protagonists.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film

It's not vintage Billy Wilder, but even lesser Wilder has wit to spare.

comment Comment
02/02/03
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
Nitrate Online

Gentle and touching satirical drama with Lemmon on form but without much bite.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/13/01
David Parkinson
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine

Intermittently funny, charming, cute and, unfortunately, over-long.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
A.H. Weiler
A.H. Weiler
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This 1972 release is the most underrated of all Billy Wilder comedies and arguably the one that comes closest to the sweet mastery and lilting grace of his mentor, Ernst Lubitsch.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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