Avanti!

Filmmaker Billy Wilder's 1972 film version of the 1968 Broadway play by Samuel Taylor marks one of the director's attempts to adapt his trademark mix of wit, romance, and sex to the more permissive era of the 1970s. Jack Lemmon stars as Wendell Armbruster, Jr., an American visiting Italy to bring back the body of his father—who died in a car accident while on vacation. Wendell is demanding, carping, insensitive, and utterly unlikable, which is the polar opposite of chatty, optimistic British woman Pamela Piggott (Juliet Mills), come to claim her mother—who it turns out was having an affair with Wendell's father and also died in the car wreck. Lemmon, who has played both a charming romantic lead and served as goofy comic relief for Wilder, here tackles the role of Ugly American, a tightly-wound, unpleasant businessman who slowly learns to enjoy life in the romantic surroundings of the vacation town, thanks to the influence of working-class Pamela. Clive Revill offers marvelous support as the hotel manager whose first duty is always to the client, a man as witty as he is efficient. Shot on location on the coast of Italy—a gorgeous setting of sunny beaches, brilliant blue water, and authentic old-world Italian streets—this is a classic romantic comedy in which the modern American world collides with the provincial Italian way of life, as the impatient corporate man learns to slow down and enjoy life. Bowing on Blu-ray, extras include interviews with actors Mills and Revill. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)