Che cosa è successo tra mio padre e tua madre?

This movie is somewhat long, especially if you watch it on TV with commercials, but it stays fresh and you never want it to be over. Jack Lemon at first is such a prig you wonder that Juliet Mills will ever have anything to do with him, but of course all ends well, with Lemon providing the comic focus. My favorite line in the movie occurs when the valet Bruno has been attempting to blackmail Lemon with nude pictures of his father. Lemon, not knowing Bruno has just been killed by his mistress complains to the manager, and ends by saying Bruno should be shot. The manager assures him that it has already been taken care of. What Service!

In a way, it's a typical Jack Lemmon character: Demanding, often unreasonable, aggravated & angry.

In Italy for very personal reasons, he gets entangled in a few messes. There's comedy alright. He just wants to get his business done and return to America. Of course that doesn't happen.

What makes this movie is Juliet Mills. I confess I didn't know she was Haley Mills sister until now. I had seen her on tv decades ago but didn't pay her much mind.

In this vehicle though, she's pretty delightful, and makes the movie. Her character, while fragile, is also sweet, and quite the free spirit at the same time.

Of course I must make mention of the naked scene where the two stars swim out to a rock, and bask in the sun, still in the raw. Now who doesn't love Lemmon? Classic icon American actor. And even if he were 25, I'd prefer to see him clad in some kind of clothing. At 47, even my wife wanted to cover her eyes. If he would've just stayed underwater.

Juliet Mills? The polar opposite. She was 31 here, and just as pretty as a woman gets. The 'girl next door beautiful', which for many of us, is simply the most attractive and alluring. And forgive me, but what a body. Holy cow, was she one vivacious Brit. Just plain hot. It was 1972 so everything was real too!! Could have viewed her all day; whether it be in the raw or in the beautiful dress she donned at dinner.

The movie is fun enough. It hinges on the hi-jinx resulting from the not so ethical, Italian elements around town, all of whom are out for a quick buck from the well-to-do Lemmon. These somewhat cornball bad guys are also the source of much of the comedy. The bad guys have a "Pink Panther" flavored hokeyness to them that keeps everything light. (I speak in general here so as not to spoil it for those who wish to take in this movie for the 1st time.)

I recommend it for a viewing. Jack doing his thing to a tee, and little known Juliet Mills is as charming as she is naturally beautiful.

Thx

Bob R.

This charming and whimsical flick has been a favorite of mine for years, and I am puzzled as to why it so neglected. There are five main reasons the film works so well, not necessarily in order of importance: 1) the cinematography of the isle of Ischia 2) Billy Wilder's direction 3) Jack Lemmon 4) Wilder's and Diamond's script 5) Clive Revill as the hotel manager. Little can be added to the generally favorable comments found here. My favorite scene: Wendell Armbruster's introduction to the Trotta family ("That's a lotta Trottas!"). Well worth a see!

The great team of actor Jack Lemmon and director Billy Wilder create yet another classic in their repetoire of great films. In AVANTI! (which means "forward" in Italian), Lemmon plays Armbruster, a snobby American executive who travels to Italy to reclaim the body of his father after the latter dies of an autowreck. Little did Armbruster

know that his old man had a companion with him, a British lady whose daughter Pamela (Juliet Mills) is also present to claim her body. Though antagonists at first, Armbruster and Pamela are drawn together because of their parents' mutual interest. With a rich Italian

landscape (complete with an awesome view of the Mediterrean Sea), plus a typically great performance by Lemmon and a well-played one by Mills, make this a terrific romance flick.

Billy Wilder & Jack Lemmon didn't go straight for the belly laughs in this departure from their usual all-out-crazy comedies. Fans of the masters will be pleasantly surprised by this delightful romantic comedy, which captivates the viewer from the very start. Mezmerizing backdrop music plays as though secretly staged by Cupid standing by to assure that lovebirds will find one another. Lemmon plays the son of a mega-wealthy American business man who had to drop everything to fly to Italy in order to claim the father's remains after a car accident. En route to his late father's "final stop", Lemmon runs in to a persistent young woman, who turns out to be the daughter of the woman with whom the father had had a lengthy affair, and who was found lovingly slung around his neck as they both died in said accident.

The situation seems rather awkward at first, but eventually Lemmon and the young woman begin following into the exact same steps their departed parents had done years earlier. The picture is completed by a brilliant supporting cast of hotel personnel and colorful locals. The performance of the multi-talented and ever-present-minded hotel manager was Oscar worthy.

Listening to the testimony of all people asked, Lemmon learns that his late father and his "friend" were viewed as Royalty, nothing less than figures from a fairy tale. The concluding scenes are the final touches to a most enchanting romantic comedy, one that has few rivals in its category. Billy Wilder has done it again. What he missed in big laughs, he made up in many magic moments and gentle pressures to your tear glands. One of the very best out there. Belissima!