• Rating:
• Genre: Action
• Movie Type: Action Comedy, Buddy Film
• Themes: Woman In Jeopardy, Cons and Scams, Monkeys
• Director: Buddy Van Horn
• Main Cast: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Ruth Gordon, William Smith, Harry Guardino
• Release Year: 1980
• Country: US
• Run Time: 116 minutes

Plot

This sequel to Every Which Way But Loose finds Philo Beddoe (Clint Eastwood) on the road, orangutan companion Clyde in tow, as he makes his way as a bare-knuckle fighter. The action begins with Philo punching out a new victim while Clyde relieves himself on the seat of a police car, setting the tone for the rest of the story. From there, Philo and Clyde return home, where Philo, who still lives with Ma (Ruth Gordon), is offered a contest with Jack Wilson (William Smith), the Mafia-sponsored East Coast bare-knuckle champ. Philo inadvertently saves Wilson's life, but then the Mafia kidnaps his girlfriend (Sondra Locke) to force him to go ahead with the match. Philo and Wilson team up to battle the Mob, but somehow they end up fighting anyway in a grueling climactic sequence. Country music, bikers, the Mafia, an orangutan, pick-up trucks, defecation jokes, fighting, drinking, and swearing -- it's all here in this lowbrow comic stew. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Review

Hard as it may be to believe, this sequel and its predecessor, Every Which Way But Loose (1978), were major hits of the "good ol' boy" school of filmmaking dominated by stars Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds in the late '70s. Featuring car chases, rotund idiot cops or bikers in pursuit, some sort of goofy animal frolic, country tunes, and tee shirt-clad he-men good with their fists and CB radios but emotionally challenged by women, the type came and went (thankfully) in a flash, but wracked up some serious box-office coin. Gleefully embracing the conventions of its bizarre genre, this flimsy excuse for drunken brawling, pratfalls, and lowbrow monkey humor actually works almost as well as the film that preceded it. Director Buddy Van Horn and Eastwood don't pretend to make more of it than it is, and keep the pace taut, the jokes flying -- so that you don't notice the clunkers as much -- and wisely get scene stealer Ruth Gordon to re-up as the protagonist's salty mater. If it all seems a retread of the first flick, well, it is, but it's still funny to see an orangutan give a gang leader the finger and fun to shake your head in disbelief at the door-slamming sound effects every time Clint connects a punch to his opponent's jaw. The first film's weaknesses are all here again as well, notably Sondra Locke in an utterly pointless role as a stone-faced country singer delivering a less persuasive performance than the aforementioned primate. Strictly for fans of a strange, best-forgotten era of artistic drought in the cinema, Any Which Way You Can can nevertheless be enjoyed for its effectively stupid yuks and its status as a relic of its absurd times. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Clint Eastwood - Philo Beddoe
• Sondra Locke - Lynne Halsey-Taylor
• Ruth Gordon - Ma Boggs
• William Smith - Jack Wilson
• Harry Guardino - James Beekman

Geoffrey Lewis - Orville Boggs; Michael Cavanaugh - Patrick Scarfe; Barry Corbin - Fat Zack; Roy Jenson - Moody; Bill McKinney - Dallas; William O'Connell - Elmo; John Quada - Cholla; Al Ruscio - Tony Paoli, Sr.; Dan Vadis - Frank; Dan Barrows - Baggage Man; Michael Brockman - Moustache Officer; Jerry Brutsche - Black Widow; Glen Campbell - Himself; Rebecca Clemons - Buxon Bess; Reid Cruickshanks - Bald Headed Trucker; Michael Currie - Wyoming Officer; Dick Durock - Joe Casey; Michael Fairman - CHP Captain; James Gammon - Bartender; Lance Gordon - Biceps; Lynn Hallowell - Honey Bun; Peter Hobbs - Motel Clerk; Art La Fleur - Baggage Man #2; Ken Lerner - Tony Paoli, Jr.; George Murdock - Sgt. Cooley; Jack Murdock - Little Melvin; Ann Nelson - Harriet; Sunshine Parker - Old Codger; Anne Ramsey - Loretta Quince; Logan Ramsey - Luther Quince; Tessa Richarde - Sweet Sue; Jim Stafford - Long John; Michael Talbott - Officer Morgan; Charles Walker - Officer; Julie Brown - Candy; Gary Lee Davis - Husky Officer; Fats Domino - Himself; Robin Menken - Tall Woman; Jack Thibeau - Head Muscle; Larry Holt - Black Widow; Kent Perkins - Trucker; Mark Taylor - Desk Clerk; Dick Christie - Jackson Officer; Weston Gavin - Beekman's Butler; John McKinney - Officer; Bill Sorrells - Bakersfield Officer

Credit

Ernie Bishop - Set Designer; William J. Creber - Production Designer; Robert Daley - Executive Producer; Snuff Garrett - Musical Direction/Supervision; Jeremy Joe Kronsberg - Screenwriter; Fritz Manes - Producer; Joe McKinney - Makeup; Stanford Sherman - Screenwriter; Ronald Spang - Editor; Buddy Van Horn - Director; Ferris Webster - Editor; Glenn Wright - Costume Designer; Tom Joyner - First Assistant Director; Chuck Gasper - Special Effects; Bert Hallberg - Sound/Sound Designer; David Worth - Cinematographer

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