SPOILERS

There is a general theory in the world today that we will one day evolve into our parents. As one man might become like his father, as might a woman become like her mother. This is perhaps one aspect of the beautiful film that is "Avanti!".

In this film, Wendell Armbuster Junior (the always brilliant Jack Lemmon) has travelled to Italy to pick up the recently deceased body of his father. Running on occasion into an English woman by the name of Pamela Piggott (Juliet Mills),Wendell experiences the beauty of the small Isle Of Ischia as a friendship develops with the neurotic Miss Piggott.

The beauty of "Avanti" is it's simplicity. Jack Lemmon travels to Italy as one man, and leaves another. Learning the truth behind his fathers visits to Ischia, Lemmon slowly begins to emulate his father and fall for his father's lover's daughter. Taught to relax and enjoy life, Lemmon's character develops from a mad, rushing, rude businessman into a friendly romantic with a lust for life. Juliet Mills' Miss Piggott equally changes as she develops from a paranoid, unhappy, diet obsessed, nut into a happy, laid back, beautiful woman with an equal love for life as Lemmon. Together the couple work beautifully together, firstly sparring and later uniting.

This film is wonderful for many reasons. As well as the aforementioned change amongst the starring cast, Clive Revill as the hotel manager Carlo Carlucci is superb and has some of the films funniest lines. Added to the acting abilities, the brilliant direction of Billy Wilder and already looking like a piece of genius.

Ultimately though, as well as the acting and directing, the three things which really make this film stand out are the often hilarious script, the stunning, addictive soundtrack and the picturesque views. After watching "Avanti", the one thing most viewers want is to instantly be transported away from where ever they are, to the beautiful landscapes of the Italian Islands. With glorious sunshine, rocks in the water where you can relax and watch the Sun come up, and classical buildings, the impression is that the people to come out of this film the best were the tourist trade of this beautiful Isle.

Truth be told, there's hardly any criticism which can be given to this film. Starting brilliantly from the offset, there's no slow start, just like there's no awkward ending. The only negative aspect, perhaps, is that it makes us wish we were somewhere else. Even this though is not as much a negative as a frustration. "Avanti" is an amazing film which makes us smile and makes us laugh. It reminds us of the beauty of the world, and it reminds us of how great life can be. This is one for the ages.

This Billy Wilder black comedy has nothing to do with any of the talents that brought international audiences Divorce, Marriage or Ghosts, but this is definitely Italian style with a taste of both Yankee Doodle Dandy and Pip, pip cheerio. Jack Lemmon managed a Golden Globe but not an Oscar nomination for his flustered businessman who heads to exotic and romantic Italy where he must claim the body of his father who was killed in a car accident. Secrets of what his father was up to connects him with a beautiful British lady (Juliette Mills) who is described as supposedly fat but is anything but. Blackmail, American diplomats interfering and even murder are the order of the day, with the presence of a mustache clad maid whom I thought at first was a man in drag.

This film gets off on the right foot with a scene on an airplane where Lemmon and some anonymous old man switch clothes for some reason, and forgetting to swap passports. Later, Lemmon keeps encountering Mills who is seeking him out, and thinking that she is nuts, tries to shrug her off. As the secrets of his father's activities are slowly revealed, resulting in the meeting with an opportunistic Italian family with extortion on their mind.

At an amazingly fast two and a half hours, this is a hidden treasure, very successful at the time, but overlooked among director Billy Wilder's many gems. Wilder regular Jack Lemmon is very funny as the frustrated international tourist, fortunately lacking the obnoxiousness of his mid- westerner visiting New York on "The Out of Towners". Mills is charming and confident in one of her few films, and has nice chemistry with Lemmon. also hysterically funny is stage veteran Clive Revill as the flamboyant hotel proprietor who has a word of wisdom for every situation and a crack for everything he can't advise on. Edward Andrews makes a late entry as the American diplomat who is a "friend" of Lemmon's family, summoned from France to Italy by Lemmon's unseen wife.

With a practically perfect screenplay by Wilder and longtime partner I.A.L. Diamond, this is a beautiful looking travelogue with a fun story and many humorous situations. It may seem at first glance to be a bit too long, but once you get settled into the plot line, you won't even notice.

Technically, this is a beautiful film with fine acting, music and locales--all in an effort to captivate the viewer with all the necessary ingredients for romance (or so it would seem).

Jack Lemmon is a stick-in-the-mud who goes to Italy to retrieve his father's body (who'd just died in an accident). When he arrives and begins asking about what had occurred, he slowly begins to realize that his dad was NOT alone--his mistress had been with him! Apparently, Dad was not as big a stick-in-the-mud as his son! At around the same time, he meets the daughter of his dad's mistress and slowly they, too, fall in love and eventually start rutting like weasels. In the end, though, he leaves for America--agreeing to meet annually with this new mistress and rut like weasels all over again. Romantic, huh?! The problem is, the movie is crafted so well, the viewer is pulled into the very artificial romance and may believe that screwing around is a GOOD thing. After all, Jack leads a dull life--a little nookie would certainly pick up his otherwise humdrum life. BUT WHAT ABOUT the impact on his family and wife?! As far as the viewer knows, they are innocent people. So, if you LIKE the idea of rutting like pigs and cheating on your family, this movie is for you! And, before you disregard my review (thinking I just "don't get it"),think how you might have felt if you had been Jack Lemmon's wife or family in this film.