Every Which Way But Loose

How do you follow a gritty revisionist Western and two violent cop thrillers? Why, team up with an orangutan for a screwball comedy, of course! Following in the footsteps of fellow tough guy Burt Reynolds (who scored big with his good-ol'-boy knockabout comedy Smokey and the Bandit), Clint Eastwood stars in Every Which Way But Loose, in which he plays trucker/bare knuckle fighter Philo Beddoe. The wafer thin plot sees Beddoe hit the road in pursuit of country singer Lynn Halsey-Taylor (Sondra Locke), accompanied by his pet orangutan Clyde, buddy Orville (Geoffrey Lewis), and fruit seller Echo (Beverly D'Angelo), and pursued by a pair of vengeful cops (who he beat in a bar brawl) and a gang of Nazi bikers (with whom he has a running feud). Now I can appreciate the humour in an orangutan flipping the bird, but when that's the biggest laugh to be had in a supposed comedy, I'm going to struggle. Every Which Way But Loose might have been a huge hit with trailer-trash types for whom a brawling no-hoper like Beddoe is an aspirational character, but anyone with a IQ higher than an orangutan will surely see this film for the aimless, plotless, charmless mess that it is - a waste of talent and time, and devoid of genuine laughs. From the moment Beddoe thoughtlessly chucks his chewing gum wrapper out of his truck window, I failed to click with this supposedly likeable schlub who answers every problem with his fists. He leaves his gum under a bar, deliberately provokes the clientele, has no consideration for other the property of other people (ramming a car out of the way with his truck), and hijacks a street-cleaning vehicle (throwing the driver onto the road). And this is the hero! It's also hard for me to enjoy a film in which everyone is so completely stupid: Philo is so thick that he fails to see that Halsey-Taylor is a scam artist (he also has no taste: she's not much of a looker); the cops that track the trucker are so dense that it's a surprise that they can actually hold their guns the right way round (the scene in which the cop takes the fishing rod from Beddoe is moronic in the extreme); and as for the bikers, suffice to say that, if they can be outsmarted by Beddoe and his pals, they're not exactly Einstein. The very unsatisfactory ending sees Philoe finally realising that Lynn has been using him (doh!), and then deliberately losing his fight with reigning champ Tank Murdock (Walter Barnes) 'cos he feels sorry for him. What a chump!

EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE (1978) *** Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke,RuthGordon, Geoffrey Lewis, Beverly D' Angelo. Rollickingly funny comedy with Clint as tough-guy Philo Beddoe and his best friend, Clyde the scene- stealing orangutan and Gordon stealing scenes from both as Philo's feisty ma. Plot is simple: Philo has fallen in love with country/western songstress Locke and entails some adventures in his pursuit. Lewis lends some able, amiable support as Philo's best bud and fellow beer drinking good ol' boy. Fine jukebox offering of C&W and filmed on location in sunny Bakersfield, California. Redneck humor was never this pugnacious!

Every Which Way But Loose (1978) * 1/2 (out of 4) Clint Eastwood was great before EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE and he was great after the film so that leaves the movie in some sort of weird Twilight Zone-like state. Perhaps Eastwood just wanted to see what it was like making something really bad but something that crowds would eat up and turn into a hit. In the film he plays a redneck trucker who loves to fight and drink beer with his Orangutan named Clyde. The fighter ends up beating up some cops and a biker gang and as he takes off to find the girl of his dreams (Sondra Locke) he ends up with these morons following him. There are times when I don't like a crowd pleasing film but I can view that film and understand why people like it. That's not the case here because for the life of me I can't see what so many others saw in this picture. Not only is it painfully unfunny but it's also so drawn out that by the forty-minute mark I was ready to hit the eject button but we still had over a hour to go! It really does seem as if the writer was sitting around thinking what funny situations he could put Eastwood in. Lets team him with an ape. Okay, something could have been done with that. Have the two of them drink beer together. Again, perhaps something could be done. Oh yeah, get Eastwood to fight as many people as possible. These elements could have been the start to something but in this movie they're everything and they are just so poorly done that it never works. The entire film is just so long and nothing but the same thing happens over and over. Eastwood appears to be having a good time with it all. Geoffrey Lewis is good as his buddy. Both Locke and Beverly D'Angelo are good in their roles as the love interests. With that said, it's Clyde who gives the best performance. However, with all the fine performances it's still not enough to overcome a silly and bland story.

Clint Eastwood stars in this incredibly dumb comedy that was successful enough to spawn the sequel, "Any Which Way You Can." Clint plays a bareknuckle boxer who takes care of his pet orangutan, Clyde, played by Manis. Clint falls for a country singer, Sondra Locke, who disappears after he has given her a large sum of money. He goes on a cross-country search to find her. It seems that wherever he goes, trouble is sure to follow, in the persons of a hick cop and his partner, and a "wannabe" gang of bikers. That is about the extent of the plot offered in this fiasco. The highlights come in the form of Clint's primate pal, and in the many bareknuckle boxing fights that our hero participates in. Ruth Gordon peps things up a bit as Ma, but her schtick gets old as well. The title tune became Eddie Rabbitt's first crossover Top 40 hit, peaking at number 30.

a truly classic film , which shows Clint in a different light and can truly act. very enjoyable family film, despite the fact that it is now 28 years old , the kids loved it. another generation now enjoying this funny film with the ape Clyde stealing most scenes. the fight scenes are very well choreographed, the film is fast moving and keeps you interested to see what happens.The film is highly recommended for family viewing , especially on a weekend. the music and songs will stick in your mind, especially the title song every which way but loose, which really goes hand in hand with the film and truly complements it. one definitely to watch.

It is just unexplainable, why the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences did not award this film with Oscars for (at least) best direction, best screenplay and for the best actor Because Manis The Orangutan did an extraordinary job in first writing down the script on a typewriter with a stick bearing a turd. And then he took the biding of a director, randomly grinding and farting on the set and thus apparently giving the "action!" signal to the crew. And also at the same time Manis delivered acting performance almost as good as Clint Eastwood did. Because do not be fooled by the official credits: as there is just no way, that this movie was written or directed by even the stupidest homo sapiens. Both tasks had to be done by Manis The Orangutan; or some other ape throwing cinematic feces at the viewers In other words: if you are amid fan of metabolic waste of the film industry- then this picture will suit your exquisite taste

If there had to be one way to go for Clint Eastwood, it's down. Way down! You wouldn't want to see an all-time action film legend star in a cornball comedy that delivers plenty of bad taste. John Wayne probably went through the same situation, too. No wonder why this one did some outstanding business at the time of its release. A hefty abundance of C&W music meant that the culture was into a growing popularity by the late 70s, which brought in more country cornpone to the theater screens. It appeared that we wanted to see Clint do a comedy, but he sure wasn't the right man for the job. So what happened to the script? Our man Clint is in love with the Palomino country singer Sondra Locke (he was with her in several more of his Malpaso productions). That's the whole story, and it all goes every which way but loose until there's a big knot where the entire movie itself becomes nothing more but senseless junk. The orangutan made the perfect pairing for the guy who carries a .44 Magnum.....what an embarrassment! And then there was a sequel! Clint, how can we ever forgive you?

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'!

In Every Which Way But Loose, Clint Eastwood not only shares the screen with lady love Sondra Locke, but with an orangutan named Clyde. He had to call on all his skills to keep the film from being stolen by an ape. This and its sequel Every Which Way You Can will never be at the top of Clint's cinema achievements, but it's a nice rollicking comedy about a bare knuckle fighter. If it were set in today's times instead of the Seventies, Eastwood's Philo Beddoe would be on the extreme fighting channel. Seeing Clint's living quarters reminded me of John Wayne's similar arrangements in True Grit with Chin Lee and General Sterling Price the cat. Clyde's quite a bit more the handful than a cat. He lives with Geoffrey Lewis who is his second and corner man in the bare knuckle fighting business and handles all the wagers and Lewis's mother a 'helpless' little old lady with a shotgun, deliciously played by Ruth Gordon. Making his living as a bare knuckle fighter, Clint just seems to run into people determined to take him down. That includes an involvement with aspiring country singer Sondra Locke whom he spends a good deal of money on and who then takes a powder on him. She's heading east so Clint, Lewis, and Clyde are as well. Along the way they pick up sharp shooting Beverly D'Angelo who saves them on one occasion. The legendary bare knuckle champion is Denver Tank Murdoch and as that 20th century philosopher Ric Flair opined, to be the best you have to beat the best. So Clint is heading to Denver to find both Locke and Walter Barnes who plays Tank Murdoch with his three amigos. He also manages to arouse the anger of John McQuade and his Black Widow Biker gang. These people are the sorriest biker gang ever depicted on the big screen. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE manages to best this crowd of losers. But they never give up. Best in the film are Ruth Gordon and Clyde, not necessarily in that order. I've often thought that the Academy Awards should have a best animal performance in a given year. That year the Oscar gold would have been taken by the orangutan. I wish the film had elaborated a little more on when Eastwood and Lewis break into a zoo to get Clyde's male needs satisfied. For a lighter and brighter side of Clint Eastwood, don't miss Every Which Way But Loose.

This is my childhood film of which I have seen hundreds of times. Although originally Clint Eastwood was told by many friends and co-workers not to play a part in this film, it turned out a success due to its down to earth humour and a well selected cast. Watch this film to see a different approach to Clint Eastwood's work, as he lives a relaxed and happy life with his ape 'Clyde'. The sequel to this film is just as good as the first one, with new characters and well supported music that suits the period as well as the film. They have finally released both films on DVD in England and is worth the investment for a classic collection.