In this film, we follow a successful businessman on the trip to Italy to dispose for the reappearance of his tycoon-father's body. In this trip, he suddenly discovers a secret that his dad died with his mistress of long standing
A biting farce about an American in Italy, this gets great comic mileage out of Lemmon, Mills and the Mediterranean, but Wilder seems uncertain whether he's laughing with or at his protagonists.
This 1972 release is the most underrated of all Billy Wilder comedies and arguably the one that comes closest to the sweet mastery and lilting grace of his mentor, Ernst Lubitsch.
There is a lot of Billy Wilder in [Avanti!], including the idea that age is a state of mind. The film doesn't all work, [but] when the rigid Armbruster warms up on a sunny rock,... Wilder is telling us something that is more than just fun.
