{"id":93969,"date":"2023-12-15T13:37:49","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T20:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=93969"},"modified":"2023-12-15T19:28:52","modified_gmt":"2023-12-16T02:28:52","slug":"avanti-1972","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=93969","title":{"rendered":"Avanti! (1972)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Don&#8217;t bother me with details &#8212; just do it!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Poster-196x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-93970\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Poster-196x300.png 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Poster-177x270.png 177w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Poster.png 481w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a boorish business magnate (Jack Lemmon) arrives in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/travel\/article\/ischia-island-italy\/index.html\">Ischia<\/a> to collect his deceased father&#8217;s body, he encounters a young woman (Juliet Mills) also there to collect her mother&#8217;s body &#8212; at which point he learns that their parents were having annual trysts on the island. Will Lemmon &#8212; with help from a solicitous hotel manager (Clive Revill) &#8212; be able to get his father&#8217;s body back to Baltimore in time for a massive memorial service, or will Mills somehow get in the way?\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Billy Wilder Films<\/li>\n<li>Death and Dying<\/li>\n<li>Grown Children<\/li>\n<li>Infidelity<\/li>\n<li>Jack Lemmon Films<\/li>\n<li>Romantic Comedy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBilly Wilder&#8217;s fourth-to-last film &#8212; made just after <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=86313\"><em>The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes<\/em> (1970)<\/a> &#8212; was this romantic comedy collaboration with his longtime writing partner I.A.L. Diamond, based on a 1968 play by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Samuel_A._Taylor\">Samuel L. Taylor<\/a>. While it&#8217;s beloved (or at least appreciated) by all four of the (male) reviewers I cite below, I found this film pretty hard to take, at least at first &#8212; especially given what a flaming a**hole Lemmon is when we first meet him (and for quite a while thereafter): <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Lemmon.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Lemmon-1024x566.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"354\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-93977\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Lemmon-1024x566.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Lemmon-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Lemmon-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Lemmon-768x424.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Lemmon-489x270.png 489w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Lemmon-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Lemmon.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; as well as how frequently the screenplay refers to Mills as some variation of fat (!). (She&#8217;s her own worst critic around this topic, but it doesn&#8217;t help that Lemmon is quick to agree time and again.) While Mills is quite charming (what <em>does<\/em> she see in him?): <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-Tile.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-Tile-1024x555.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"347\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-93979\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-Tile-1024x555.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-Tile-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-Tile-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-Tile-768x416.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-Tile-498x270.png 498w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-Tile.png 1293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and the storyline (and Lemmon) eventually become more tolerable, I was fully soured by this point, and had trouble appreciating either the sporadic humor (some of which works) or the extra-marital romance that eventually blooms (with flagrant disregard, naturally, for Lemmon&#8217;s wife and kids back home). The film&#8217;s best feature is its fine location shooting, which certainly makes Ischia look like a tremendously appealing get-away. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Juliet Mills as Pamela Piggott<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-1024x556.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"348\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-93972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-1024x556.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-768x417.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills-498x270.png 498w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Mills.png 1288w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Clive Revill as Carlo Carlucci<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Carlucci.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Carlucci-1024x560.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"350\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-93973\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Carlucci-1024x560.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Carlucci-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Carlucci-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Carlucci-768x420.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Carlucci-494x270.png 494w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Carlucci.png 1279w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine location shooting in Italy<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Location.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Location-1024x552.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"345\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-93974\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Location-1024x552.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Location-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Location-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Location-768x414.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Location-501x270.png 501w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Location.png 1290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Nuns-Love-Story.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Nuns-Love-Story-1024x552.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"345\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-93975\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Nuns-Love-Story-1024x552.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Nuns-Love-Story-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Nuns-Love-Story-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Nuns-Love-Story-768x414.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Nuns-Love-Story-500x270.png 500w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Avanti-Nuns-Love-Story.png 1292w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo; you can skip this one. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0068240\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s909avan.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/review\/72493\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=4430&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t bother me with details &#8212; just do it!&#8221; Synopsis: When a boorish business magnate (Jack Lemmon) arrives in Ischia to collect his deceased father&#8217;s body, he encounters a young woman (Juliet Mills) also there to collect her mother&#8217;s body &#8212; at which point he learns that their parents were having annual trysts on the island. Will Lemmon &#8212; with help from a solicitous hotel manager (Clive Revill) &#8212; be able to get his father&#8217;s body back to Baltimore in&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=93969\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93969"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93998,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93969\/revisions\/93998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}