Review: Any Which Way You Can

Most of the characters from “Every Which Way But Loose” return as bare-knuckle fighting trucker Philo (Clint Eastwood) who makes nice with singer Halsey (Sondra Locke), after their rather stormy relationship in the previous film. Philo is looking to leave the pugilist life behind him, but mobsters kidnap Halsey in order to coerce him into taking on promising fighter Jack Wilson (William Smith). Wilson and Philo mutually agree that the position they’re in is shit, and Wilson had no part in Halsey’s kidnapping. Nonetheless a showdown appears to be on the cards between the two. Clyde the Orangutan, Ruth Gordon (as Philo’s cranky mother), and Geoffrey Lewis (as Philo’s sidekick) return, as do the dopey bikers from the previous film (played by Bill McKinney, John McQuade, and Roy Jenson among others). Michael Cavanaugh, Al Ruscio, and Harry Guardino play underworld figures, and Anne and Logan Ramsey play an elderly couple.

 

Dumb sequel to a dumb hit film, this 1980 follow-up to the mind-bogglingly successful “Every Which Way But Loose” is a mild improvement on the subpar predecessor. Directed by veteran stuntman Buddy Van Horn (who also directed Eastwood in “The Dead Pool” and “Pink Cadillac”), it starts with the same picturesque view over the credits, largely the same cast, and even a similarly awful opening song, this time an embarrassing little duet between star Eastwood and the usually dignified Ray Charles called ‘Beers to You’. Didn’t Clint learn after “Paint Your Wagon” that singing just wasn’t his thing? Apparently not, though thankfully he lets Ray do most of the singing, and even Ray is in poor form. The dopey bikers are back to do dopey biker shit, Geoffrey Lewis looks legit drunk and irritable at times, the monkey is back to simply be a monkey as though that on its own is funny (it’s not).

 

What does put this one over on the previous film is that it does kinda have a legit plot, which is nice. Although she still has the charisma of a bunny-boiler, Sondra Locke’s character and performance are slightly less cold and off-putting this time, so someone has learned from that mistake in the first film at least. Also, big William Smith is on hand to play Clint’s friendly bare-knuckle rival. He’s well-cast (and refreshingly cast as somewhat of a decent guy for a change) and frankly more interesting company than Clint. We also get an inexplicable Fats Domino cameo, and the guy is all class (However, the fact that Fats Domino is up on stage and Clint would rather talk to Sondra Locke is the film’s big problem in a nutshell). I’ll also say that the orangutan is incorporated a little better into the film, albeit still not funny. Otherwise, this is the same shit, done slightly better but also less fresh by being a sequel. TV veteran Michael Cavanaugh is an OK villain, but Harry Guardino ends up wasted, and Al Ruscio barely gets any screen time at all as a mafioso. It was nice to see the late Anne Ramsey alongside her husband Logan for a scene or two though, and gruff James Gammon makes a fair bit out of nothing for his fleeting moments on screen.

 

Like the previous “Every Which Way But Loose”, this was a box-office success. Also like that film, it shouldn’t have been. A lame parody of “10” is a definite nadir of this cynical cash-grab. Scripted by Stanford Sherman (the cult fantasy pic “Krull”), it’s sloppy and dumb, just a bit less sloppy and less dumb than the previous film.

 

Rating: C-