La gran pelea

A charming, and endearingly goofy follow up to the successfully hearty comedy 'Every Which Way But Loose (1978)', which starred Clint Eastwood as cool-hand, bar-brawling Philo Beddoe along with his alcohol slurping orangutan companion Clyde. Slap-stick galore with the easy-going style of the original picking up the pace and having a variety of cartoon-like characters represented by a more than capably fruitful cast (some who are Eastwood regulars). They're here for a good time and it shows. Geoffrey Lewis, Sondra Locke, Ruth Gordon, William Smith, Harry Guardino, Bill McKinney and Barry Corbin give pleasingly amusing performances. However it's the returning John Quade who's a hilarious hoot as the leader of the haplessly crony bikers 'Black Widows'. Eastwood naturally comes across cool and collected in another winning performance. The drama here feels a little more spontaneous, busy and crazy with much more bare-knuckle, sweaty fist fights (which are well-executed) and a real infantile comical imprint. Streaming through is a heart-warming music score with an appealing country swing and open photography sharply frames some beautiful locations and accordingly gets amongst the action. Is it better than the first… I don't think so, but I never grow old of these fun, light-headed features.

Philo Beddoe (Clint Eastwood) and his orangutan friend Clyde return for more silly but agreeable hijinks in this successful sequel to "Every Which Way But Loose". Philo still makes what money he can from bare-knuckle fights, and gambler James Beekman (Harry Guardino) gets the bright idea to pit Philo against the equally tough Jack Wilson (the almighty movie tough guy William Smith). Philo initially agrees to the deal, then decides against the fight, which only motivates the villains to kidnap Philos' girl Lynn (Sondra Locke), with whom he's reconnected. Everything comes to a head with scores of people determined to watch the fight and hopefully make a ton of money from their bets on the outcome.

The fantastic, vivid fight scene between Clint and Smith is definitely a highlight; it's one of those old-school donnybrooks that certainly must be a favorite for people who love a good movie fight. Overall, the movie is "good" no-brainer fun, although it does go on an awfully long time (just short of two hours), with not all of the comedy detours paying off to any great degree. That said, there are true chuckles to be had. Although it hardly needs to be said, the simian actors Buddha and Manis (taking turns playing Clyde) steal the show. Clydes' courtship of a female orangutan whom Philo temporarily "borrows" from the zoo is the most priceless moment. It's also hysterical whenever Clyde is told to junk a car.

One of the things that this viewer liked best was the nuanced relationship between Philo and the rather amiable Wilson. Neither man is really THAT interested in winning the fight, and keep wanting to keep things "even" between them. Wilson is one of the best roles that the late, great Smith ever played. And there's a rich, constant assortment of familiar faces (some of them repertory players in Clint movies of the 70s and early 80s) in supporting roles and bits. Geoffrey Lewis, as could be expected, is particularly fine as Philos' buddy Orville. Ruth Gordon has some very amusing moments as Philos' irascible Ma. Even Locke does a good job; she's appealing in the love interest role, and does some singing of her own.

Clint and Ray Charles do a very pleasant duet on "Beers to You", which kicks off "Any Which Way You Can" in fine fashion.

Even if a FAR cry from the more prestigious films of Clints' career, there's no denying the goofball charm of this movie.

Seven out of 10.

If any animal deserved its own trailer, chauffeured limousine and personal trainer, it would be Clyde.

"Any Which Way You Can" proves once and for all the similarities of ape to man (and in some cases, the ape's superiority).

Basically, this movie is a great improvement over the stillborn humor of "Every Which Way But Loose". Clint wisely plays straight man to Clyde, who provides the funniest moments, when not befriending William Smith ("Big Bill" Smith from the old biker movies. Go look it up.), then engaging in a bare-knuckle fight with him later on.

Everyone fares better in this movie, in fact. Sondra Locke is far more graceful, Geoffrey Lewis gets more laughs, even Ruth Gordon is seen as the next Bo Derek (bless her heart).

And if the Black Widows aren't more menacing this time around, well... that's kind of hard to do when you're wearing fake wigs and have penciled-in facial hair.

I've seen this movie so many times myself, that I have nearly the entire screenplay committed to memory. What more indelible impression could a filmmaker want to make than that?

This sequel to "Every Which Way but Loose" is as good as the first. Clyde the orangutan is back. Clint Eastwood is a retired bare knuckle fighter with a huge reputation. When a national "title" fight is offered, he hesitates, wanted to quit fighting. But he's forced to go through with the fight (of course - this is EASTWOOD for crying out loud!). There are many humorous scenes and I like this one as well as the first. Good one!

It may not be saying much, but Any Which Way You Can is much better than Every Which Way But Loose.

The biker gang are funnier this time around, Clyde gets far more screen time (which is a good thing), and the big fight near the end is a fairly brutal cracker.

A no-brainer, certainly, but who can resist seeing Barry Corbin driving his plane along the roads, in order to get to the fight?