Any Which Way You Can

Clint and his monkey...
Okay, okay, before I start getting e-mails up the waz detailing the differences between monkeys and apes, I know Clyde (the main character in the film owns an orange, male ape) wasn't a monkey, but `Clint and his orangutan' just didn't have the same zing...Every Which Way But Loose (1978), directed by James Fargo, who, back in the mid to late 70's seemed to have a promising career, working with Eastwood earlier in 1976's The Enforcer, but after the predictable and hokey 1982 Chuck Norris martial arts actioneer Forced Vengeance, he soon found himself relegated to the domain of the small screen, directing episodes of such 80's television shows as The A-Team, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and Hunter. Starring in the film is Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven), one time Eastwood co-habitator (that means they shacked up together, but never got hitched) Sondra Locke (The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Gauntlet), Geoffrey Lewis (Salem's Lot, Bronco Billy), and one of the more curmudgeonly actresses I've ever...

Old School Living.
Wow, do you mean to say that Hollywood actually made a movie that was not condescending towards working class America? Oh, that's right, this one came out 27 years ago. Watching it for the first time since boyhood made me painfully aware of just how much our culture has changed for the worse. Nowadays, presenting a character like Philo Beddoe would necessitate the inclusion of some sort of Jerry Springer incest plot just to make it believable. Yet Eastwood's Philo is anything but the kind of immoral dullard we are so used to seeing shout onstage at his half-sister paramour; in fact, his morality is exceptional given the circumstances. His honor is can be easily juxtaposed with Sandra Locke's "hustler" mentality. Their romance is an incredible beating, but Philo takes the pain with the same grace that he does in the unofficial underground ring. My favorite part of the film is when Eastwood approaches a college girl in a country bar to say hello. She is nasty in return and looks down...

Addicted to This Movie
I'm a huge Clint Eastwood fan, and I enjoy watching and discussing his deep, dark movies like "The Beguiled" and "Unforgiven." But my guilty secret is: whenever "Any Which Way You Can" show up on cable TV, I get a big goofy grin on my face, drop everything I'm doing, and watch it. I realize this film is an acquired taste, but I *love* it. It's my redneck roots coming out. The overage bikers, Clyde the orangutang, William Smith, crazy old Ruth Gordon, Geoffrey Lewis, Clint crooning with Ray Charles on the soundtrack, even Sondra Locke's singing and acting (which comes off as enjoyably campy in this context)--it's all great! And I love the message of "we rustic rural types are just as interesting as anybody else" (because these *are* my people, as I've said.) I don't think Eastwood has made a more enjoyable movie.

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