Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The story goes that Burt Reynolds was friends with Clint Eastwood in the late 70s and Burt suggested that he would do a serious cop thriller if Clint did a comedy akin to Burt's numerous good ol' boy flicks (e.g 1977's "Smokey and the Bandit"). So Clint did 1978's "Every Which Way But Loose" and 1980's "Any Which Way You Can" while Burt eventually did "Sharky's Machine" in 1981, which he described as "Dirty Harry in Atlanta." Burt lost the challenge because, not only are most of Eastwood's cop thrillers superior to "Sharky's Machine," both of the "Which" films are superior to Burt's good ol' boy flicks, particularly the first one.Eastwood stars as easy-going truck driver Philo Beddoe who fist-fights on the side for extra money. His buddy Orville (Geoffrey Lewis) promotes unofficial prize-fights for him while his pet orangutan, Clyde, assists them. San Fernando Valley, CA, is their stomping grounds as they enjoy cold beer, country music, bars, women and the occasional fight. While Philo is an expert when it comes to fights he's not so expert when it comes to women, particularly a little country and western singer, Lynn (Sondra Locke). They're relationship ended badly in the previous film, but it may or may not be rekindled in this one. Philo, Orville and Clyde are still pestered by a gang of witless bikers (John Quade, Bill McKinney, etc) as Philo considers squaring off with the best fist-fighter on the East coast (William Smith). Ruth Gordon is on hand as Ma.Like the title blurb says, this is almost as good as the previous film, which IMHO is the best of the good ol' boy movies of that era. Many like it better, so it's a matter of opinion. Regardless, "Any Which" is consistently entertaining from beginning to end and, while it's too zany to take serious (even zanier than the first movie), the characters are decidedly human and there's a lot of warmhearted-ness mixed with the laughs and thrills. Add Clyde's amusing & amazing antics (and, less so, Ma's) and you have a worthy sequel to the eminent good ol' boy movie.Since this is a sequel and plot threads are carried over from the first film, it's best to watch that one first to fully appreciate this one. The original orangutan featured in "Every Which" had matured too much and was possibly dangerous so they used a different ape. Glen Campbell performs the title song at the end, which was a Top 10 hit on the country music charts.The film runs 114 minutes and was shot in San Fernando Valley, CA (and nearby areas, like Bakersfield), and Jackson,Wyoming.GRADE: B+

Philo Beddoe and his sidekick Clyde are back in another hilarious film! This sequel is quite good and yes it's worth watching if you enjoyed this first film. Orville (Geoffrey Lewis) is back again to complete the comedy trio. This movie is just a great as the first movie -- both are full of knuckle-busting action and gut-busting laughs.I will recommend watching the first film (Every Which Way You Can) then watching this sequel film to get the full story. The films would make a great double feature manatee. Clint, Clyde and Geoffrey will turn any boring day into a fun filled afternoon. 9/10Confession: I was thinking that Jerry Reed made a guest appearance in one of the two films - but, alas, my memory was wrong.

Strangely This Movie has a Soft Spot in my Memory - I was a Freshman at College and went to see this movie with my Brother who is 5 years younger than me. He had seen the Every Which Way But Loose Precursor , and let me in on the comedic scenes. If you were 11 in 1978 it was funny. It was great to bond with him, since we always seemed to fight growing up. So 30 years later ....Well i just got this at a Garage Sale for 33 cents on DVD. I had an inkling of how bad this movie was from my memory but watching it again, phew it's a real stinker.First my review summary , about the defenseless animal comment. You will never, ever, ever, ever see this full movie on TV because of the Rattler and the "Mongoose" scene. Did PETA not exist in 1978? What was/is the point of that scene? I learned from another reviewer that it wasn't even a mongoose, it was a FERRET. For those of you who don't know, in Asia there used to be betting on a mongoose-rattler type of match. It's supposedly about 50-50, but like dog fighting most civilized people just don't do it nowadays. How in the heck did this scene get into a major movie? (A ferret wouldn't have a chance in this encounter. The producer just said, lets just drop a defenseless ferret into a rattler cage for fun, and stick it in the movie. ) DON'T BUY THIS MOVIE UNLESS YOU WANT TO SEE A DEFENSELESS ANIMAL KILLED. I digress too much, but I just wanted to warn people. About the restSandra Locke - Untalented, ugly, and can't sing or act.Clint - Should Stick to Tough Guy Movies. Every comedic attempt ends in disaster.(Anyone remember the 2012 Republican Convention Chair Speech)Country Music - Really Really Bad in this movie. Way beyond normal country music bad. Glen Campbell wen't way down in my eyes. I can't get the horrid title tune out of my head.Clyde The Ape - Would scare the crap out of me. Not funny, and his repeating "Right Turn" joke was obviously staged. (If you got hit by a real ape you could be dead). Also if he defecated in police cars, why not show it (The crap at least). Implied Crap is supposed to be funny?Other People/Characters Clint's Buddy - Pretty Good Biker Gang - Leader - Best part of the movie. Dumb, funny, harmless. They keep the movie from being a 1Ruth Gordon - Old Clint's Opponent - OK - But why the Homo-Erotic bonding scenes with Clint?Jackson Hole - Looks like a beautiful place to visit +10Plot Holes - Just the most obvious one. Are we really supposed to believe that two 50+ guys are champion bare-knuckle fighters? Two of the best in the USA? The major premise of this movie would make a lot more sense if both characters were in their 20's.All the Ape Scenes.Summary: An unfunny, nasty, nasty movie.

Crude, sophomoric, irreverent, silly, stupid, overly macho, etc., etc. - yet, an endearing and very enjoyable film for a lot of people. I wouldn't put myself in that category any more, calling it "endearing," but when I was a lot younger and more less discerning, I laughed a lot at this. I enjoyed this as much, if not more, than the original film, "Every Which Way But Loose." Now, it's a bit too seedy and I don't care for all the abuses of the Lord's name in vain, especially in comedy. However, this is an entertaining film. No one falls asleep watching the antics of the orangutan or Clint Eastwood and his fighting opponent or the irascible Ruth Gordon. The villain in here - Eastwoood's boxing opponent "Jack Wilson" (William Smith) was a good guy and the bare- knuckle was something to see!It's low brow stuff, but a lot of that kind of humor was big in the '70s and early '80s.