Avanti just misses being a very good romantic comedy from the usually cynical Billy Wilder. What kills it is the length, 140 minutes. This is long for just about any film much less a comedy. Wilder had final cut and refused to shorten the film.
Avanti is about an American businessman traveling to Italy to pick up the body of his deceased father. While there he discovers that his father had a long running affair with a woman which went on for over 10 years. The business man also runs into the woman's daughter, a rather overweight Englishwoman. Let the fat jokes commence.
Jack Lemmon plays the business man almost like an older version of his CC Baxter character from The Apartment. Juliet Mills is the free spirited Englishwoman who worms her way into Lemmon's life.
This film is considered a late period Wilder film. It has a more gentle touch than the last couple of films that Wilder had directed which were pretty damn cynical.
If you can get past the length this isn't a bad film. but once again the length of the film makes it somewhat of a chore to get through at times.
Written by Wilder and his frequent collaborator I.A.L. Diamond.
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