Any Which Way You Can
Any Which Way You Can | |
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Directed by | Buddy Van Horn |
Written by | Stanford Sherman Jeremy Joe Kronsberg (characters) |
Produced by | Robert Daley Fritz Manes |
Starring | |
Cinematography | David Worth |
Edited by |
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Production company | The Malpaso Company |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 116 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $15 million[1] |
Box office | $70.7 million (North America)[2] |
Any Which Way You Can is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Buddy Van Horn and starring Clint Eastwood, with Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, William Smith, and Ruth Gordon in supporting roles.[3][4] The film is the sequel to the 1978 hit comedy Every Which Way but Loose.[5]
Plot[]
Two years after throwing his fight with Tank Murdock, Philo Beddoe is still fighting in underground bare-knuckle boxing matches to make money on the side. Philo, who still lives with his mother, his cousin Orville and orangutan Clyde, decides to retire when he realizes that he has started to enjoy the pain. One evening, Philo encounters his ex-girlfriend, country-western singer Lynn Halsey-Taylor, singing at his favorite bar. Orville angrily reproves Lynn for her actions two years before. Lynn apologizes to Philo. Philo, initially gruff and reluctant, forgives her. They become a couple again and move in together.
The Black Widows, the biker gang with a long-running grudge against Philo, return. They still want revenge for the destruction of their bikes. However, Philo bests them in a chase that runs through an asphalt machine during a road-paving project.
Meanwhile, Jack Wilson, a new breed of fighter from the East Coast who mixes martial arts with boxing, dominates the bare-knuckle circuit. He is so effective at maiming his opponents that his handlers cannot book fights for him. After a fight between a mongoose and a rattlesnake, one of the handlers realizes that if Philo, king of the West Coast brawlers, agreed to fight Wilson, it would be the biggest draw in the history of bare-knuckle boxing. Philo initially agrees to the fight but after much prodding from Orville and Lynn, withdraws. The handlers, led by handicapper Jimmy Beekman and backed by the Mafia, kidnap Lynn to coerce Philo to show up for the fight. The fight is to take place near Jackson, Wyoming. The Black Widows follow Philo there.
Wilson, however, is a prize fighter with morals. After he learns of the plot and helps Philo and Orville rescue Lynn, he and Philo mutually decide to call off the fight. However, both fighters' personal pride makes them wonder who would have won. The brawl between the two characters takes place after all, but it is punctuated by pauses and personal reflections on their mutual admiration for each other. Meanwhile, the Black Widows bet everything they have on Philo; despite their rivalry, they know that he is the better fighter. When the mobsters try to kill Philo once he gains the upper hand, the Black Widows protect their investment by beating up the Mafia men. Wilson eventually breaks Philo's arm and offers to end the fight, but the two men continue the brawl. After a long fight, Philo knocks Wilson out long enough to qualify for a win. Wilson helps Philo to the hospital, then later on they have a drink at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. On their way home, Philo and the Black Widows (who are now rich) declare a truce and part amicably. Beekman, whose attempts to rig the fight for Wilson failed, cannot pay the mob bettors and is marked for death. After reaching California, Philo and Lynn are pulled over by a cop who lost money betting against Philo earlier in the film; he promises to endlessly harass them as punishment. Lynn calls out, "Right turn, Clyde!" Clyde promptly knocks out the cop and they drive away.
Cast[]
- Clint Eastwood as Philo Beddoe
- Sondra Locke as Lynn Halsey-Taylor
- Geoffrey Lewis as Orville Boggs
- Ruth Gordon as Zenobia 'Ma' Boggs
- William Smith as Jack Wilson
- Barry Corbin as Zack Tupper
- Harry Guardino as James Beekman
- Michael Cavanaugh as Patrick Scarfe
- James Gammon as the bartender
- John Quade as Cholla
- Al Ruscio as Tony Paoli Sr.
- Jack Murdock as Little Melvin
- George Murdock as Sergeant Cooley
- Dick Durock as Joe Casey
- Camila Ashlend as Hattie
- Anne Ramsey as Loretta Quince
- Logan Ramsey as Luther Quince
- Jim Stafford as Long John
- Michael Talbott as Officer Morgan
- Mark L. Taylor as Desk Clerk
- Jack Thibeau as Head Muscle
- Charles Walker as Officer
Production[]
Any Which Way You Can started filming in summer 1980.[6] The film was filmed in the California communities of Sun Valley, North Hollywood, and Bakersfield, and in Jackson, Wyoming.[6]
Glen Campbell performed the "Any Which Way You Can" title song track in the final scene of the movie, and the song was a Top-10 hit on the country music charts.[7]
Manis, the orangutan that played Clyde in the first film, was replaced by two younger orangutans, C.J. and Buddha. Generally, primates are not used as animal actors past the age of 8 because their strength is fully developed and they are often less docile. According to a book by Jane Goodall and Dale Peterson entitled Visions of Caliban, Buddha was badly mistreated and beaten by his trainers, and C.J. was just brought in after filming was completed in order to do the publicity after Buddha's death, possibly from injuries inflicted by the trainers.[8] Doubt has been cast on these claims, however, by makeup effects artist William Munns.[9]
Reception[]
Box office[]
Any Which Way You Can opened on Wednesday, December 17, 1980 and became the number one film at the U.S. box office with an opening weekend gross of $8,024,663 from a record 1,541 theatres.[10][11] The following weekend, between Christmas and New Year, the film stayed at number one, grossing $10,091,105 from 1,572 theatres, a 26% increase.[12] The Saturday was a record single day gross for a Warner Bros.' film with a gross of $3,861,561, beating the record set by Superman.[13]
It was the 5th highest-grossing film of 1980[14] with a gross of $70,687,344 in the United States and Canada.[2][15]
Critical response[]
Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four and opened his review by stating: "Clint Eastwood's "Any Which Way You Can" is not a very good movie, but it's hard not to feel a grudging affection for it. Where else, in the space of 115 minutes, can you find a country & western road picture with two fights, a bald motorcycle gang, the Mafia, a love story, a pickup truck, a tow truck, Fats Domino, a foul-mouthed octogenarian, an oversexed orangutan and a contest for the bare knuckle championship of the world?"[16] Janet Maslin of The New York Times thought the film was "better and funnier than its predecessor," adding that "Clyde's role has been expanded this time, and Ruth Gordon's has been made smaller, all of which makes the formula much more fun."[17] Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, "Filled with plenty of monkey business, first half is pretty funny as these things go, but film runs out of steam after mid-way highlight ... Although overlength didn't stop 'Loose,' same flaw here is even more irritating due to protracted finale and lack of any continuing tension in Eastwood-Locke relationship."[18] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three stars out of four and called it "a most genial Eastwood action-comedy."[19] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Directed in an appropriately laid-back manner by Buddy Van Horn in his directorial debut, 'Any Which Way You Can' aspires to nothing more than entertainment. As one comedy of admittedly greater ambitions after another proves disappointing these days, 'Any Which Way You Can' (PG) is welcome as just plain fun."[20] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote, "A generous entertainment of its kind, 'Any Which Way' mixes plentiful portions of gauche, robust action and comedy with frequent musical interludes ... The weakest element in the plot is the lack of a compelling reason for Philo and Jackson to go through with their fight."[21]
As of December 2019, the film holds a rating of 20% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 4.92 out of 10.[22]
Soundtrack[]
The Sound Track Music From Clint Eastwood's Any Which Way You Can | |
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Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
Released | 1980 |
Genre | Country |
Label | Viva Records (U.S.) Warner Bros. Records |
Producer | Various Artists |
Singles from The Sound Track Music From Clint Eastwood's Any Which Way You Can | |
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Track listing[]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
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1. | "Beers to You" | Steve Dorff, John Durrill, Sandy Pinkard and Snuff Garrett | Ray Charles and Clint Eastwood | 2:42 |
2. | "Any Which Way You Can" | Milton Brown, Steve Dorff and Snuff Garrett | Glen Campbell | 3:13 |
3. | "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" | Larry Collins and Sandy Pinkard | David Frizzell and Shelly West | 3:21 |
4. | "Whiskey Heaven" | Cliff Crofford, John Durrill and Snuff Garrett | Fats Domino | 3:00 |
5. | "One Too Many Women in Your Life" | John Durrill and Phil Everly | Sondra Locke | 2:06 |
6. | "Cow Patti" | Jim Stafford | Jim Stafford | 3:12 |
7. | "Acapulco" | Larry Collins and M. Leath | Johnny Duncan | 3:31 |
8. | "Any Way You Want Me" | Leo Offman | Gene Watson | 2:49 |
9. | "Cotton-Eyed Clint" (Instrumental) | Adapted by Steve Dorff and Snuff Garrett | The Texas Opera Company | 1:42 |
10. | "Orangutan Hall of Fame" | Cliff Crofford and Snuff Garrett | Cliff Crofford | 1:00 |
11. | "Too Loose" | Milton Brown, Steve Dorff and Snuff Garrett | Sondra Locke | 1:58 |
12. | "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys" | John Durrill and Snuff Garrett | John Durrill | 2:34 |
Chart performance[]
Chart (1980) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 5 |
U.S. Billboard 200 | 141 |
Canadian RPM Country Albums | 7 |
References[]
- ^ Box Office Information for Any Which Way You Can. Archived 2014-12-29 at the Wayback Machine The Wrap. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Any Which Way You Can". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
- ^ "Any Which Way You Can". www.rottentomatoes.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ "Any Which Way You Can (1980)". www.allmovie.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ Bleiler, D. (1999). TLA Film and Video Guide: The Discerning Film Lover's Guide 2000-2001. TLA Film and Video Guides. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-312-24330-2. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Hughes, p.127
- ^ "The Clint Eastwood Handbook - Everything you need to know about Clint Eastwood". Archived from the original on 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
- ^ Dale Peterson and Jane Goodall, Visions of Caliban, pp. 145–46.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-03-24. Retrieved 2021-04-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Domestic 1980 Weekend 51". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (December 17, 1980). "'Any Which Way' But Not Anti-Bid States". Variety. p. 3.
- ^ Ginsberg, Steven (December 31, 1980). "Star Vehicles Lead Christmas B.O. Pack". Variety. p. 3.
- ^ "'Any Which' In New Single Day WB High". Variety. December 31, 1980. p. 3.
- ^ 1980 Yearly Box Office Results Archived 2018-11-30 at the Wayback Machine Box Office Mojo
- ^ Hughes, p.128
- ^ Ebert, Roger (December 18, 1980). "Any Which Way You Can movie review". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (December 17, 1980). "Screen: Clint and Clyde". Archived 2019-12-24 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times. C26.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (December 17, 1980). "Film Reviews: Any Which Way You Can". Variety. 16.
- ^ Siskel, Gene (December 22, 1980). "Clint and Clyde a genial team". Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 2.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (December 17, 1980). "Clint Eastwood Still a Crowd-Pleaser". Los Angeles Times. Part VI, p. 1.
- ^ Arnold, Gary (December 17, 1980). "Knuckles & Chuckles". Archived 2019-12-24 at the Wayback Machine The Washington Post. E1, E6.
- ^ "Any Which Way You Can". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
Bibliography[]
- Hughes, Howard (2009). Aim for the Heart. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-902-7.
External links[]
- 1980 films
- English-language films
- 1980s action comedy films
- 1980s buddy films
- American action comedy films
- American buddy films
- American sequel films
- American films
- American boxing films
- American buddy action films
- Country music films
- Films about apes
- Films set in California
- Films set in Wyoming
- Warner Bros. films
- Underground fighting films
- Mafia comedy films
- 1980 comedy films
- Films directed by Buddy Van Horn