Any Which Way You Can

• Directed by Buddy Van Horn
• December 17, 1980
• Based on characters created by Jeremy Joe Kronsberg

A man reluctantly comes out of retirement from underground bare-knuckle boxing to take on a fighter hired by the mafia.

While watching the realization occurred to me how out of time Any Which Way You Can is in the present. There was a time when you could find films that explored ideas, themes, and concepts more linked to men than women. This is very focused on male characters and male experiences. The story deals with traditionally male themes of honor and dignity and self-worth, or those which could be casually referred to as the Bro Code but that’s a bit denigrating.

The story opens with Philo Beddoe (Clint Eastwood) fighting a local cop. He decides to retire because he is starting to like the pain which is really weird but they never dig into that. Philo does understand liking pain is probably not a healthy thing. Unfortunately for him there are some other people running illegal fights that hear about him and decide he needs to be in another one for them causing the drive of the story.

Their fighter Jack Wilson (William Smith) has put a few people in the hospital if not outright killed them. Despite this Philo goes ahead because he needs the money. The relationship between the two evolves into one of honorable warriors. Both are looking for a clean and respectable fight with others wanting to or just making it dirty. In other circumstances they might have been friends.

There’s no animosity between Philo and Jack. Jack even helps Philo when the returning Lynn Halsey-Taylor (Sondra Locke) is kidnapped to ensure Philo’s participation. Honor and integrity is a big part of the story. There’s no glory to be had in forcing the fight. Their hearts would not be in it.

We are quickly re-introduced to most of the characters, major and minor, from Every Which Way but Loose in one aspect or another. This is set up almost as the aftermath of that or a continuation thereof while maintaining enough of its own identity that viewing the first is not needed.

Lynn realizes she lost the possibility of something special with Philo. Philo still has feelings for her with some of this movie being navigating those feelings while also opening himself up to her again. There are multiple plot lines of various importance going on. All feed into the main story in one way or another. Some tangentially with others more directly.

Ma (Ruth Gordon) gets more time on screen with the driving issue from before playing into her story. In an effort to help she takes off in a truck. When she gets to a motel an instant attraction to the clerk occurs. The spaciness of the afterglow the next day is hilarious! She is one of several characters in many well balanced storylines that make the minor players from before better rounded without changing them. Even Clyde is more than a gimmick but not by much.

The bikers still hold a grudge and are pursuing Philo to get revenge and restore their honor. Philo being the better man easily bests them in some humorous moments. You think their final meeting is going to be some kind of fight, but their pursuit of Philo has pretty much made them wealthy because they bet on the final fight.

While most everybody else returns, Echo (Beverly D’Angelo) does not. Not even recast. She ended as Orville’s (Geoffrey Lewis) girlfriend. She was not a major character but having him with somebody would have made his advice and guidance matter.

A stylistic element noticeably missing from this film present in the first are events happening off camera. Several times in the first movie something would be going on in front of the camera while a fight or something could be heard just to the side. Here we get none of that. 

The humor relies on everything from slapstick to Clint Eastwood’s patented a-hole performance. There is the climax of everybody getting to the honorable fight any way possible in something seemingly inspired by Mel Brooks with its distinct absurdity. There are tough bikers running around hairless and in wigs!

It is always a risk to do a sequel. Can it recapture some of the magic of the first? I think they are largely successful here with a few improvements in areas that were weak the first. There is much more grounded silliness allowed for by no need to introduce the bulk of the cast.

Any Which Way You Can is a good comedy. Not sidesplitting funny but entertaining with strong performances from Eastwood and everyone else in a script that’s makes you laugh or smile.