Any Which Way You Can (1980)

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Ruth Gordon, William Smith, Anne Ramsey, and Fats Domino
Grade: B-

Though it’s an absolutely dreadful opening song, if you want to hear a country duet between Clint Eastwood himself and fucking Ray Charles, “Beers to You” is quite the novelty.

Summary

In Los Angeles, everyone is driving over to an area for Philo Beddoe’s (Eastwood) next bare-knuckle fight. Truckers are talking trash to cops on the way there, as Philo’s opponent is a cop they’re bringing in named Joe (Dick Durock). Apparently, Joe whipped every Marine in the 1st Division. However, Philo is no Marine. Philo, his best friend Orville (Lewis), and Philo’s pet orangutan Clyde drive in, and Orville puts $1,200 on Philo. Taking off his shirt, Philo tells Orville to take care of Clyde for him because Clyde has a history of crapping in squad cars. The fight begins, and Orville leaves Clyde to watch closer. As Philo beats Joe’s ass, Clyde walks away from the truck, wanders around, and finds a squad car to shit in. During the fight, Philo gets distracted by two women cheering for him and smiles, prompting Joe to sneak in a punch that drops him. Philo gets up, acknowledges it as a solid punch, and then finishes off Joe handily. He knocks him silly into the other cops who hold him up. Still, Philo declares the fight is over. The other cop tries to argue it’s not because Joe didn’t fall, but it’s obvious Joe is in no condition to continue and Philo ends it there. The cops take the loss and walk Joe back while the crowd cheers. Afterwards, Philo meets up with Orville, and Orville realizes he doesn’t know where Clyde is at. Just then, Clyde walks back over to them, and Philo already know he found that squad car, telling Clyde he has no respect for the law. Once they leave, a cop sees what happened in the squad car and brings over Sgt. Smith to show him. During their driver, Philo tells Orville this is going to be his last fight. After he tells Clyde “right turn” for Clyde to hold his right arm out the window to be a real-life turn signal, Philo admits to Orville he’s beginning to like the pain. Hearing this, Orville realizes it might be time, and Philo thinks so too.

At the same time, Sgt. Smith drives Joe and the other cop home, and Joe still can’t believe he lost. Smith still can’t get over the smell, but Joe can’t smell anything on account of his broken nose. While Orville gives Clyde a banana, the cop asks Smith if the captain will really transfer them to Death Valley. Smith is sure of it since they lost $2,800 of his money. Just then, Clyde throws the banana peel out of the truck and it lands on Smith’s car. The cop thinks they should pull them over for littering, but Smith tells him to shut up.

In the city, Paoli (Ken Lerner) shows up to a high-rise with an enclosed cage and enters into a private room with several wealthy men. He puts a $30,000 bet on his animal, a ferret. They drop the ferret in there with Jim Beekman’s (Harry Guardino) rattlesnake. All the wealthy men watch as the two animals battle to the death in this cage. Beekman’s rattlesnake wins, and a defeated Paoli tells him that his money will be there at 5PM. Beekman asks his associate Patrick Scarfe (Michael Cavanaugh) if he has set up a fight for his bare-knuckle brawler Jack Wilson (Smith) yet. He pays Wilson $5,000 a month, so he doesn’t want him just sitting there. Patrick reveals that no one wants to take Wilson on after he took out the last couple of guys, though he does know there could be an option in the West Coast in Philo Beddoe. Beekman has never heard of Philo, but Patrick says people in Dallas think a lot of him and he’s well known in California. He thinks they could get a good piece of action out of this one and convinces Beekman on it. At night, Luther (Logan Ramsey) and Loretta Quince (Anne Ramsey) drive into California from Iowa. Loretta isn’t sure about this trip because she’s heard about how peculiar people from California are. Just then, they see Philo, Orville, and Clyde all pissing on the side of the road, prompting Loretta to tell Luther they should go back to Iowa. Later, Philo, Orville, and Clyde head into honky-tonk bar, The Palomino. To their shock, Philo’s old flame Lynn Halsey-Taylor (Locke) is performing. They decide to stay and have a drink. Once Lynn is done with her performance, she approaches Philo and Philo rightfully gives her the cold shoulder. She realizes he’s still mad at her. Then, she has the audacity to undersell everything that happened in Every Which Way but Loose by stating, “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I… I was mixed up”. She apologizes and says it’s all in the past to which Philo replies, “Yeah, it sure is”.

Lynn asks if Philo wants her to leave and he flatly responds, “Yeah”.

Once Lynn leaves, Clyde sticks his tongue out at Philo. He goes over to the other side of the bar and sits next to Lynn. After he knocks on the bar for another beer and the bartender who knows Clyde pours one for him, Lynn talks to Clyde as if he understands full conversation. She knew Philo and Clyde frequented the Palomino, so she told the manager she would sing for free to get a chance to talk to Philo again. She questions if she even should have bothered. A bar patron tells the bartender he doesn’t like drinking with dirty apes, but the bartender replies that Clyde is a clean ape. The guy considers kicking Clyde out, but the bartender warns him not to get involved and to just have another beer. The guy initially refuses to listen and stands up, but he sees Clyde bend a pipe all the way to its side, leading to the guy sitting back down and ordering another beer. Philo notices Clyde getting a little rowdy, so he thinks they should get out of there. Orville walks over to ready Clyde and tells Lynn to stay away from Philo. He adds that Philo was down for two months after she pushed him to the side, but Lynn says so was she. Even so, Orville states that the three of them are doing just fine and for her to leave Philo alone. Clyde goes over to the guy who was considering fighting him, takes the cigar out of the guy’s mouth, and kisses him. Orville grabs Clyde and they leave. The guy turns to the bartender with an uneasy smile and comments, “Kind of grows on you, doesn’t he?”. At Cholla’s (John Quade) place, the Black Widow biker gang are having a meeting and the whole thing is about getting revenge on Philo. In the middle of their chanting, one guy sees smoke coming from the kitchen and realizes his brownies are burning. He rushes away, and Cholla is disheartened hearing such nonsense (“Why me, Lord? I mean, you made other men out of clay. Mine, you made out of shit”). Back at Philo’s house, he’s working on his truck and Ma (Gordon) gives him shit for quitting his job. However, Philo has to remind her that fighting isn’t his job. It’s merely a side hustle.

She still goes on about how it was the closest thing he had in making a decent living, how he doesn’t care about keeping a roof over her head, and how he doesn’t care if she has to eat dog food or has to soak her teeth in Clorox.

Ma is interrupted by Clyde coming out of the house with her Oreos, and she’s pissed. Just then, Patrick shows up to speak with Philo while he works on his car. Apparently, Beekman is willing to back him for a fight. Philo responds that he just recently decided to retire. However, Patrick offers $15,000 for a fight against Jack Wilson. Philo’s interest is piqued, and he does know of Wilson. Patrick raises the offer to $25,000, leading to Philo getting up to talk to him. Win or lose, the money will be payable. He even gives Philo $10,000 in advance. Philo accepts and tells him to give the money to his manager, Clyde. Patrick doesn’t know who Clyde is, so he turns and gets freaked out at the sight of Clyde. Even so, Philo insists Clyde handles all his business. Philo tells Clyde to stash the money and to not let Ma see him. Clyde puts the stack in his mouth and goes into the shed. Ma can see Clyde from the window. Patrick gives Philo his card before departing. At night, Orville listens to a police radio and hears about someone’s dead battery. He puts a large sticker on his truck denoting how he’s a 24-hour towing service and readies himself to go. Philo interrupts to ask if he’s seen Clyde, but Orville hasn’t. Philo is concerned because Clyde has been gone for couple of hours. Philo checks the shed and finds Ma searching through all of Clyde’s things for the money. Ma sees Philo and lambasts him for working and slaving for Clyde, but he doesn’t care and just asks if she’s seen Clyde. Since she hasn’t, Philo head over to the Palomino. Thankfully, Clyde is there, and he’s sitting in the crowd listening to Lynn perform. Once she’s done and Fats Domino goes on after her, Lynn sits down with Philo and Clyde. Philo lets her know that Clyde isn’t supposed to be out like this, but Lynn explains that she didn’t do anything. She was singing, and Clyde just came in and sat down. Philo realizes Clyde may have gotten lost and just recognized the place, but Lynn jokes that Clyde may have just wanted to see her and how not everyone hates her.

Philo says he doesn’t hate her. He can take any kind of pain, but there is one he has no tolerance for. She admits the same. Changing the subject, Philo asks if she’s doing another set, but she only does one set a night since everyone is there to see Fats Domino. Philo compliments her performance and offers to give her a ride home. She happily accepts.

Once they get to the YWCA shelter, they both acknowledge that he’s not going up with her. Philo drives off. The Black Widows see him and stop by him at a stoplight. Cholla tells Philo they are going to kill him, but he’s not intimidated in the slightest. Cholla threatens Clyde too, so Philo tells Clyde, “Right turn”. Clyde punches Cholla from the passenger seat, and he falls off his bike into all the Black Widows as they’re parked right next to each other at the light, falling down like dominoes. Clyde flips them off, and Philo drives away. Moments later, Philo has a change of heart and drives back to the YWCA. He finds out Lynn is in Room 25, but the lady who runs the place tells Philo he’s not allowed up there. Philo knows this but goes anyway. The lady calls the police and several more women tell him he can’t be there on the way to Lynn’s room. He finally finds it and she lets him in. Philo says they have an extra room at the house, but she doesn’t need any handouts. Philo responds “Handouts are what you get from the government. A hand-up is what you get from friends”. Flirtatiously, Lynn asks if he’s a friend, and he confirms. Soon after, the cops show up to her door, and she acts as if they just woke her up. They apologize and leave. Immediately after, Philo stands up and him and Lynn head out the window and down the fire escape. In the hallway, the one cop chalks the whole thing up to “wishful thinking”. Rita comments that all men just assume women are thinking about them all the time. One girl agrees with the sentiment, kisses the cop, and all the women laugh. Philo and Lynn get to the truck, but Clyde isn’t there. Philo looks over and sees Clyde crapping in the squad car. At the same time, the two cops are walking towards the car. Philo and Lynn get Clyde in the truck just as the cops see them. They rush to the car while Philo drives off, but they sit directly in the shit and don’t pursue.

At Philo’s place, Philo gives Lynn his bedroom and he takes the guest room, which is just the shed. He finds Clyde still awake, so Clyde walks over and gives him an Oreo. Philo says he will save it for later, and he spreads out his sleeping bag to go to sleep. Clyde snuggles up next to him. Later that night, Lynn walks in and lays next to him. They start getting intimate, so Philo tells Clyde to not look. The next morning, Philo and Lynn are still asleep, and Clyde kisses Lynn’s forehead. He walks across the shed and looks at a newspaper clipping of a new female orangutan at the Bakersfield Zoo. Clyde opens the door and walks outside, and the brightness wakes up Philo and Lynn. After some back and forth, Lynn thinks she loves Philo to which he replies, “I think that’s a piece of luck for me”. They kiss. As this happens, Clyde plays on the tire swing, the hammock that breaks on him, he drinks a beer, plays with the hollowed out garbage can, dunks a basketball without jumping, drinks out of the water hose, plays with the hammock again, hits the heavy bag, rides a bike poorly, and falls off a table and a chair. Later, Orville shows up from towing something and lets Philo know Jordan will give them $200 if they scrap the Mercury for him. Hearing this, Philo tells Clyde to scrap the Mercury. With this, Clyde starts tearing pieces off and inside the car with his bare hands and throwing them all over the place. Philo goes on his jog, and Jack Wilson shows up and joins him. They jog and talk, and Jack is impressed that Philo gets in around 10 miles a day. Since Philo doesn’t know who he is at first, Jack goes on about he sits behind a desk all day and plays squash, acting like he’s struggling with the jog. While Philo states that he gets his lifting done picking up engine blocks, they jog near a rocky area. Philo warns him to be careful because he sees a soft shoulder. Moments later, Jack falls through a soft spot and is close to falling off a cliff. He holds onto a cable, and Philo pulls him up to safety. After Philo notes his strong grip, they both agree he owes Philo one.

That night, Philo gets ready to go out, but Orville tells him he shouldn’t do the fight. He did some digging on Jack and doesn’t like what he’s hearing.

Philo argues how the fight will get them a new truck, a new roof, and some extra stuff for Ma. Orville counters with Jack killing two men last year. Philo argues it was only one, but Orville points out that it’s the same thing because the other guy has a broken neck. Even so, Philo is doing this fight, and he tells Orville to not mention it to Lynn. Frustrated, Orville sits on the swing next to Clyde, as they both have been pushed aside lately by Philo in favor of Lynn. At the Palomino, Philo watches Lynn perform, and Jack sits with him. After Lynn’s song is done, some guy insults her and Jack tries to get him to stop. The guy gets up to fight him, so Jack pushes him. The guy punches Jack, so Philo goes crazy and kicks everyone’s ass. Jack watches and doesn’t join in until he sees someone pull out a knife. Then, he starts kicking everyone’s ass and Philo stops to watch, surprised at his skill. He knows it’s Jack now. They consider this scrap Jack making it even, and Philo asks if he found out what he wants to know. Jack did. He knows now that Philo is fast and likes pain, eating it “like candy”. He’s seen this type of fighter before, saying that the more hurt they are, the more dangerous they become. Jack notes the importance of durability, and he knows most don’t have this trait. Philo agrees with this and swigs his beer. Jack says they should call the fight off because there’s no point to it. Philo jokes that he’s not doing it for points. This elicits laughter from Jack and Philo laughs with him. Jack then says Philo is good but not good enough. He doesn’t want to hurt him. Philo replies that they can’t always do what they want to do. Philo covers his bill and they both say it’s a pleasure watching each other work. Once Jack leaves, Lynn comes over and asks who that was. Philo lies and says it’s a friend of his that he used to play squash with. The next day, Philo is moving an engine block to work on, and Lynn interrupts to say she doesn’t want him to fight.

Philo realizes Orville snitched and calls him out, and Orville argues that he thought Lynn would have more influence than him. Lynn continues to plead with him, Ma comes out to give him some shit, and Clyde even comes over and puts his arm around Philo’s.

Seeing that everyone in his circle doesn’t want him to fight, Philo relents and has Clyde get the money. He gives the business card to Orville and tells him to call Patrick to get his money. Lynn is happy and kisses Philo. Inside the house, Clyde grabs the money. He had it hidden under Ma’s mattress, and she’s pissed off because she was outsmarted by him. Soon after, Patrick flies over and approaches Philo angrily. He warns him that no one goes back on an offer from Beekman, but Philo doesn’t care and has Clyde hand the money over to him. Patrick states that he will hold it for him, add $15,000, and will give it to Philo when he shows up for the fight. He tells Philo that whatever Jack will do to him is nothing compared to what Beekman will do to him if he doesn’t show up for the fight. Unphased, Philo has Clyde escort Patrick out. As he walks away, he warns Philo he will be getting a visit from his men soon. Philo asks if they will be driving Cadillacs as well, which he confirms. Hearing this, Philo gives Clyde the directive to scrap Patrick’s Cadillac, so he does and completely destroys the car. Patrick drives it away, though the car is in shambles. Later, Philo suggests to Orville they go to Bakersfield for a couple of days. Orville doesn’t want to because he doesn’t want to be a third wheel. They share some whiskey at the kitchen table, and Clyde walks in. He takes Philo’s shot and starts drinking out of the bottle, so Philo has to stop him. Following this, Philo takes Clyde and Lynn to Bakersfield. As soon as they drive off, the Black Widows begin to follow, as they were camped out waiting for him. During the car ride, Lynn notes how unhappy Orville is these days, so Philo admits Orville is bothered by how much space of his Lynn is taking up. They’re not taking it too seriously though. Philo sees the Black Widows in his mirror and drives into a construction zone as they follow. He drifts away from a truck laying down tar, but the Black Widows can’t avoid in time and drive right through it.

Philo drives to a dead end and has Lynn lock the doors. He stands outside the car with Clyde to face them. They all show up and are about to attack. However, the tar hardens on their bodies, and they all fall to the ground. Philo knows he can’t just leave them there because dogs will piss on them, and it’s just not fair to the dogs. So, he puts them in the bed of his truck, drives them to a medical facility, and has them all craned onto the front lawn. He talks with the nurse on hand, asking if he can help them. They can. They’ll just have to peel them all like bananas, though this will remove all their hair and it will be moderately painful. Cholla says Philo will pay for this, but he replies that he already is. He tells Cholla that he’s owed $40, $20 for the tow boom and $20 to clean up his truck. That night, Philo drives Clyde and Lynn to the Bakersfield Zoo after hours, and Philo and Clyde break in to get Clyde a female. Philo uses a syringe to inject some knockout liquid into a banana, and he tells Clyde to give it to the female to knock her out, which is wild on many levels. Clyde takes the syringe, stabs himself, and passes out. Philo puts Clyde on his back, walks back to the truck, and dumps him in the bed (“Well, I seem to have the only primate in the country that’s a dope addict”). Philo goes back inside and finds the female orangutan. He looks at the newspaper clipping and comments that it’s Clyde’s fault if he got the wrong one. He tosses the drugged-up banana at the female. Meanwhile, Beekman’s men show up at Philo’s house, break in, beat down Orville, and hold Orville at gunpoint to force Ma to give up Philo’s location. She reveals he’s in Bakersfield and will be getting a motel out there. They storm out. Ma grabs Orville’s keys while he’s knocked out and takes his tow truck to go after them. At the same time, Philo drives Lynn, Clyde, and the female orangutan to a motel and gives the orangutans their own room. They get intimate while Philo and Lynn get intimate.

All seems well, but it won’t be for long because Philo is going to take this fight, especially after Beekman’s men kidnap Lynn to force the action.

My Thoughts:

Continuing the slapdash adventures of Clint Eastwood and his orangutan pal, Any Which Way You Can takes itself even less serious than before and arguably puts together the superior installment of the two-film series. Working at a faster pace, lessening certain harsher honkytonk elements, giving Clyde more to do, and shooting straight for pure entertainment, the outlandish sequel increases the stakes, maintains the action, and still has a lot of fun while doing it. It still might not be for everyone, but if you enjoyed the movie’s predecessor, you might like its continuation that much more.

Including even more random supporting characters and subplots, this sequel succeeds in its everything-in-one approach. Along with the return of the Black Widows, James Beekman gets the mafia involved, sports betting plays a big factor, and the action is just as good if not better than the first one. Above all else, what truly makes this sequel edge the first one out is Philo’s newest opponent, Jack Wilson. Played strongly by former amateur boxer and bodybuilder William Smith, Jack is like a cross between Dan Severn, Marc Mero, Don Frye, and Charles Bronson. With a powerful build, wide frame, and an athletic, intimidating presence to him, Jack is a believable foe for the badass protagonist who hasn’t lost a single fight between two movies. Granted, Philo technically lost the Tank Murdoch fight, but he threw it on purpose, so that doesn’t count. By the time this sequel commences, it’s clear Philo is probably the best bare-knuckle brawler in the country. He’s only considering retiring because he’s beginning to like the pain. To match the prowess of such a character, you can’t just write one up. Whoever is cast has to look the part of a threat. William Smith is exactly that, and Jack and Philo having this mutual respect after seeing each other fight and workout was a cool development, albeit an unexpected one at that. Jack is technically an antagonist, but he’s not a villain. This is strictly business, and he’s actually a respectable guy. Despite the build being about their showdown, the best part of the movie had Jack approaching Philo, acknowledging that Beekman’s men kidnapping Lynn had nothing to do with him, and he is honorable enough to find Philo once he figures out where they have Lynn, offering to team up with him to do what’s right. Outside of Philo and Clyde, Smith’s Jack Wilson is the best character of the entire series. They do a fantastic job at endearing him to the audience, explaining his background and character with some key lines and a strong delivery by Smith, and his general toughness translates, fitting the roughneck-styled standard of the franchise.

Some have criticized the climax because there is no reason for the two friendly adversaries to go through with the fight, but I adored the unique decision. In the vein of the iconic Rocky III when Apollo Creed helps Rocky Balboa win his fight but still wants to face him in a private match because he just has to know who the better fighter is, Any Which Way You Can does the same thing to a degree but two years prior. Despite these two bare-knuckle brawlers becoming friends and being looked at as the respective kings of the East and West Coast regarding underground street fighting, they are too curious on what the outcome would be if they were to go head-to-head. Truthfully, this is a realistic mindset for a lot of competitive people, especially in the athletics. When one is driven in their respective sport and they have a desire to be considered the absolute best, they have to test themselves among others who are considered to be the best. With Philo, he called his shot with Tank Murdoch in Every Which Way but Loose because he had to know if he was “The man”. Now that there is another man in town who is considered to be the best by many and they are both still in their primes, Philo can’t just turn off the competitive spirit. Once again, he has to know. Jack is cut from the same cloth, which is why he reopens the discussion, despite befriending Philo and feeding Clyde a banana. Though he initially considered the idea of neither showing up to the fight, so no one would be screwed out of any lost money and neither had to be a pawn in Beekman’s game, the fire within Jack still keeps him from being satisfied with this non-finish. Even though they went through everything that happened together and Jack proved himself to be an honorable man, he still can’t end things at an even score between them. One of them has to win, respectfully. It’s why Philo doesn’t balk at the comment when most of us would, especially after Orville was nearly killed during the action prior.

Philo understands what Jack is saying because he feels the same way. Since Jack is still speaking as a respectful man and now a friend, he makes sure Philo knows that he has no desire to make Beekman rich if he wins, like he figures he would. He just wants to know for his own benefit and mental clarity that he’s “The man”, so the two drive to a secluded barn and decide to have “The Fight of the Century” in private. No money involved, no gimmicks, and no outside influences. It’s just two men wanting to see who the real man is, and it’s an electric climax that is one of the best cinematic fights of all time. A crowd still inevitably gathers because the two fight throughout the city and the thousands of people that flew in to bet on the fight are alerted that its back on, but the point still stands. Philo and Jack ignored all the other bullshit and knew the only solution was to fight to get it out of their system. It wasn’t out of hate or money. It was purely because two warriors had to know who the champ was. Sometimes, that’s all the motivation you need.

The places where Every Which Way but Loose fails to some degree, Any Which Way You Can improves upon. It has a faster pace, less of Ma, more of Clyde, and the Black Widows were given better things to do this time around. Though making the neo-Nazi biker gang more likable was an odd choice, the cartoonish exploits they engage in and the ideas the screenplay comes up with to make them even more outlandish are creative to say the least. Giving them a tar bath so they are forced to peel everything off, including all of their body hair, is a decision that is hard to forget. To double down, Cholla tells them to paint on their eyebrows and gives them all vastly different wigs because they all look like freaks, but this notably backfires and makes them look like a gang of insane, leather-clad clowns, resulting an amusing scene where they are pulled over by two cops. As Cholla tries to maintain his tough persona and even demands a ticket of some sort so his pride isn’t hurt, the snickering cops decline to do so because they don’t have the heart and see he’s in enough trouble as it is (“Son, you are a walking violation of the laws of nature, but we don’t enforce them laws”). To further the hilarity of the wacky scene, Cholla speaks to God and monologues, “Lord, you have given me these crosses to bear, and I will carry them all the way from Jerusalem to Jackson, whichever’s closer, but hear me lord. Though I will walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will chew on Philo Beddoe’s ass for my last supper!”. As chaotic and bizarre as these two movies are at times, there are quite a few gems like this one that convince audiences they didn’t regret tuning in due to both movies being unforgettable by design, no matter the overall quality of the picture. It’s like they went into this premise with a bet of if they can top what happened in a previous scene. For example, as a callback to the first movie’s most memorable sequence, Philo decides once again that Clyde needs a female companion, and he concocts this outlandish plan of drugging a banana so Clyde can basically have his way with her.

Obviously, it doesn’t happen this way per say, due to Clyde stabbing himself with the syringe and knocking himself out because of it, but Philo still threw the banana to the female orangutan to set things up for Clyde to get laid. Nevertheless, the details are quickly forgotten about until Clyde himself references it in the final minutes of the movie. Regardless, the whole thing is still played for laughs as both orangutans wake up and are given a motel room following the zoo scene. All of it results in a highly memorable and funny side-by-side-by-side love sequence where Philo, Clyde, and smaller supporting character Luther all show their animalistic tendencies in wooing over their woman, and all three females react in a similar manner to their companion. Plus, it gives us one of the greatest Clint Eastwood moments of all time, with Philo hanging from the lighting fixture like an ape to show off because impressing the mate is part of the courtship with orangutans and he was trying to mirror it jokingly for Lynn. It’s crazy to admit, but it works. The excessiveness of the humor, overstuffed subplots, and the load of supporting characters work a lot better this go-around in comparison to the first movie. For example, all the random bettors, the carefree Zack Tupper playing poker and driving his jet upside down, the old women, the pervert motel manager, and mafia head Big Tony were far and wide more entertaining than people like Putnam, Herb, and the others from the first movie. Slimy compulsive gamblers Beekman and Patrick being the driving forces behind the scenes were also a nice tough, as they strengthened the “B” story by raising the stakes and forcing Philo to fight by kidnapping Lynn. Layering Beekman and Patrick’s story with the added worry of Big Tony and his money getting involved, as Jack losing could result in Beekman’s life because he covered a lot of bets with cash he didn’t have adds a lot of worthwhile intrigue to the narrative outside of the main cast.

Everyone has something to lose, and everyone’s allegiances become crisscrossed at some point, reinforcing the erratic energy of the movie. Even Cholla gets involved by putting money on Philo to win the fight and having to intervene with Beekman’s men to make sure he’s safe. It’s all over the place! On a side note, did that henchman really think he was that good of a shot that he could assassinate Philo from the balcony of a building in a sea of people with just a small handgun? There’s no chance he is that good of a marksman.

Since Clint Eastwood couldn’t help but continue adding Sondra Locke to everything during this timeframe where they were together in real life, it kind of forced her inclusion into this sequel almost to a fault. Though it’s true that she was a surprising positive that aided the first film’s narrative, Lynn Halsey-Taylor was written into such a corner that it’s truly hard to buy into the rekindling of her relationship with Philo in this sequel. Keep in mind, we are not far removed from Every Which Way but Loose, and the devastating reveal that Lynn was just using the protagonist to get money out of him before moving onto the next guy. In the most pivotal moment of arguably both movies, she chastises Philo for not picking up on her signals earlier in the story, calls him dumb, and talks about how she was trying to get rid of him from the first day they met. Despite the pursuit of Lynn being the driving force behind the entire movie, it was all a sham, and Philo felt like such a fool for being taken advantage of in such an earth-shattering way, he leaves in silence, following being hit several times in the face and body by an frantic and angry Lynn who was furious with his heart and persistence. She slapped the hell out of him too, drawing blood. Now, just two years later with this sequel, Lynn is on an apology tour, and they’re using Clyde to make us feel bad for her? Are you kidding me? Throwing real-life stuff out of the equation as to why Sondra Locke returned for the sequel, you cannot convince us that this character deserved to be back in Philo’s life from a narrative perspective after what happened in the movie’s predecessor. By her own admission, Lynn never liked Philo. It was literally all an evil elaborate plot from a scumbag of a person. The whole point was that she was willing to use him and any other man to get to the top as an aspiring country music star. Two years later, she suddenly does like Philo and chalks up their last encounter to being “mixed up”? Sorry, you’re going to have to do better than that.

A major plot point of Any Which Way You Can is Philo getting back together with Lynn. With this in mind, Lynn has to draw sympathy from the audience or show in some form or another that she was wrong about what happened, acknowledges it, feels dreadful because of it, and proves that she’s a changed person. None of that is displayed here. The only thing that gets remotely close to revealing her sympathetic side is that she decided to work at the Palomino for free all this time in hopes of running into Philo again to talk to him. Does she tell Philo this to show how dedicated and sorry she truly is for what happened that fateful night two years ago? No, the subject is never broached with the most important character in the movie. Well, does she at least reveal this crucial development to his best friend in Orville? No, she doesn’t do that either. The only person Lynn reveals all of this information to about how hard she’s worked is Clyde, the fucking ape who doesn’t speak English. What the hell does that accomplish? How does this decision do her any favors or help in having her win Philo back over to her side? When it actually comes to human conversation with the two people in the movie that matter, and who’s opinions can shape if she is brought back into the fold for good, Lynn is vague about everything regarding her old ways and tries to avoid talking about specifics like conveniently never broaching the subject about how she manipulated Philo out of $7,000 previously. We know he didn’t get that money back, so Lynn at least acknowledging how badly she fucked him over AND assaulted him in a parking lot warrants a serious and detailed apology. The fact that when she finally finds Philo and approaches him, she has the audacity to put it on him and state aloud as if she’s shocked Philo is still mad at her. It’s infuriating! Is she that full of herself that she thought something so pivotal and dark in someone’s life that SHE CAUSED would just blow over? Then, she straight up lies and insists she didn’t mean to hurt him?! What? YES, SHE DID! Everything she did was intentional!

She even PHYSICALLY hurt him, along with emotionally hurting him! On top of that, Lynn screamed at the top of her lungs how she hated Philo while she punched him! How could anyone forget that? Does she really think anyone is buying this? Fuck that! Her lackluster attempt at throwing out feelers to win Philo over were absolutely ridiculous and bordered on insulting. No one in their right mind would try to make this relationship work, especially someone who has his head screwed on straight like Philo. I damn sure wouldn’t let my alcoholic pet orangutan change my mind for me. Who gives a fuck if he likes her? Why is Clyde showing up to watch Lynn perform on his own utilized as a turning point in Philo deciding to give Lynn a ride home instead of forcing Lynn to plead with Philo for forgiveness in an earnest and heartfelt apology? It’s bullshit. What’s even more bullshit is watching as Lynn just dangles the carrot once again, knowing Philo will do the rest of the legwork and give in to her advances because he’s a genuine good guy. Sorry, that’s not nearly enough from a writing perspective for the viewer to fully back these two deciding to let bygones be bygones. The angle they took with Lynn in Every Which Way but Loose was too definitive to forget about. Had she fallen on hard times, failed with her goals of being a singer, looked to be in a bad place because of it, and started to reflect on all the horrible stuff she did, resulting in her wanting to apologize to guys like Philo for her actions, they would have had a good baseline to begin her redemption arc. However, the way they took it in Any Which Way You Can where we are just supposed to believe that she’s suddenly a good person now is a total slap in the face. Whether she’s living in a woman’s shelter or not is irrelevant. Lynn was a terrible human being. She needed to try way harder to convince the viewer that she deserves a man like Philo.

For those whole still love the western attitude of the first movie, it’s still very much present in this sequel by the way. There is nothing more hillbilly than Philo fucking Lynn with Clyde right next to him, and Philo just telling him not to watch. Furthermore, only a hick would laugh at Clyde wearing a dress and flashing the pervert motel manager who was somehow convinced that the orangutan was an old woman who could potentially be a future lover. Though we’re not sure what the scene is classified as, it was also very funny seeing Clyde take Philo’s shot of Jack Daniel’s right off the table and then try to drink the rest of the bottle before Philo pulls him away. Even if neither movie is an Oscar contender to say the least, there’s something inherently watchable about seeing this orangutan do literally anything. In a series-defining moment, they even have Clyde save Philo from his on-fire truck following Philo being legitimately knocked out for the first time in the franchise by Beekman’s men. Clyde just drags Philo’s dead weight to safety before the truck explodes, and it’s somehow completely believable. Damn it, it’s hard not to love everything about this ape. Orville is given a lot to do in this sequel too, which was appreciated. His best scene in the first movie was being chased by the Black Widows on foot after trashing their motorcycles and laughing about it, saving Philo in the process. Letting him have some moments to shine like trash talking the cops to get them to follow him to the Pink Cloud Motel to stop Beekman’s guys from killing Philo was a great scene (“How would you and your girlfriend like to race me over there?”). Going along with how the first movie contained a moment I have never seen before, the rescue scene in this sequel had Orville tackling Lynn to safety to get her out of the way just so Philo and Jack can clean house. What a genius move! On a separate note, the jogging sequence where Philo is stopped by the old women and Zack Tupper at separate times, and they offer advice to him to improve their betting odds was amusing.

It’s funny how thousands essentially turn up in Jackson, Wyoming of all places to watch this fight, and Philo starts realizing how momentous of an event this is becoming on that first jog. As everyone in town takes notice when Jack joins Philo on his jog, it doesn’t take much for the viewer to comprehend the magnitude of this eventual showdown. The fact that they actually delivered on the epic encounter is awesome in every sense of the word.

Though we could have dealt without the image of Ma having sex with that creep at the motel, her attitude completely changing to a religious one after finally getting laid was a funny development, as was the man imagining Bo Derek from 10 with Ma’s face pasted on her in a hilariously poor editing job. If anything, they should have just went further in this direction to where Ma becomes a devoted religious nut. Though they do allude to this fact in the epilogue when Orville talks about Ma going to another “revival meeting”, it’s obviously implying sex rather than her actively going to church. There’s no reason they couldn’t have had both though. Considering how unlikable she was prior, the steps they took to fix her showed that anyone could be salvageable. Why not double down and include a tad more outrageousness? This is in fact a movie where Eastwood’s Philo tells the motel manager that the dress-wearing Clyde is his aunt by blood, prompting the manager to comment, “I’d be careful about having any children if I were you” to which Philo quickly replies, “Always am”.

Though you will hardly by making “Philo Beddoe for President” signs like the likable neo-Nazis of this wild sequel, Any Which Way You Can surprisingly beats Every Which Way but Loose by a slim but confident margin. It’s funnier, the action and Clint Eastwood and his cop-punching orangutan are just as fun of a duo as before, and the climax possesses one of the best fights sequences ever filmed. It may not win over new fans, but this unlikely sequel of one of the more unlikely franchises in Hollywood’s history stands as one of the legendary actor’s most underrated onscreen endeavors.