Der Mann aus San Fernando

Clint Eastwood finally shows a funny, soft side to his macho persona in this humorous action/comedy about a good-hearted brawler who adopts a sneaky orangutan named Clyde and they embark in a funny journey for reasons God only knows why. With the gritty brawl scenes and the constant redneck humor, this would make the viewer wonder why did old Dirty Harry himself would be in a movie like this? It looks like something from the weird minds of Burt Reynolds and Hal Ne

Fun flick. Caught it for the first time on video. Though it was obviously aimed for the redneck, teenage drive-in crowd, the stellar performance of Clyde raises this to the level of an art house flick. Clint did what Clint does best: fights and wins. The one distraction was the startling unappeal of Sondra Locke. Her lack of talent in acting is only surpassed by her lack of talent in singing. Other cast members included a loyal buddy, Orville, a swearing granny, two blundering cops, and a gang of wimpy bikers.

Sure, 'Every Which Way But Loose (1978)' is silly, but there's just something inherently endearing about seeing an orangutan and his truck-driving best buddy drink beer, get laid (yes, the ape sees some action) and bare-knuckle brawl their way through bent coppers and members of a Nazi biker gang as they traipse across the country after a girl who's up and vanished with both Eastwood's heart and a fistful (seven thousand) of his Dollars. It is a delightfully light flick. It's brazenly bizarre core concepts are gleefully glossed over to the point of pure passive acceptance on the part of the audience; as such it's highly entertaining throughout. It settles into its loose plot with a relaxed pace that pushes it from fun set-piece to fun set-piece, constantly keeping a smile on your face and burrowing its own private place within your heart. It's an unexpected joy. 7/10

I know what you're thinking- I'm such a huge Eastwood fan so my opinion isn't that significant. Honestly though, this has got to be one of the most underrated movies of all time. I laughed harder and had a better time watching this movie than just about any "comedy" I can think of. Clint did an excellent job in a different role for him as a guy who isn't so clever and great with the ladies. His best friend Clyde turned in an awesome performance as well. I also loved Geoffrey Lewis and the gorgeous Beverly D'Angelo and Ruth Gordon does a typically great act as the tough old lady. I agree with an earlier writer with respect to the one negative here- Sondra Locke's acting and singing. The only justification is that in the movie her character is just as bad. I have to believe that even people that aren't major Clint Eastwood fans would still like this one. Big fans should love it.

People are writing things about this film like it was intended to win the academy award. Clint Eastwood has made several light hearted films about different things in his career that are supposed to make you laugh and they do. This film is both funny and entertaining. I just love when people act like they are the only ones whose opinion really counts when films like this make back 3-6 times their budget at the box office. They act like the entire world is not smart enough to decide what they like and don't like. They say things like `Inflated ticket prices' make the difference. Don't these people know that all things are relevant? If you look at dollar in and dollar out you can tell what is a success and what is not. One of the most successful films of all time is `Billy Jack' and if it sold the same amount of tickets today that is sold when it was released it would have made as much as `Titanic' or `Spiderman'. But dollar for dollar it still was a success. I have worked in the movie industry for 25 years now and don't like films being negatively criticized by people who don't know anything about film making and have obviously never made one. The trailer and poster does not in any way deceive the public as far as what the subject matter is and if you like what the film is about you will not be disappointed. `Bottom Line'!