‘There can’t be too many guys driving around this valley with an ape…’
It’s no surprise that Every Which Way but Loose exists, but not only that, it’s one of the most financially successful films of all time. I mean, the premise is irresistible. Clint Eastwood travels the country staying in crappy motels, eating in crappy diners, and setting up bareknuckle boxing matches in crappy, honkytonk bars. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the best bit. He’s friends with an orangutan named Clyde who travels the country with him. What’s not to like? Unfortunately, the finished project doesn’t live up to the promise of the premise…
Philo Beddoe (Eastwood) just wants to fight guys, hang around with his orangutan, and pursue beautiful, aspiring country singers named Lynn (Sandra Locke). Unfortunately, events keep conspiring against him.
Now, there are several issues here. One of them is that this is a comedy that is rarely funny. Eastwood does have some comic chops, but this isn’t the best vehicle for him to demonstrate them. Another problem is that this is not a film about a man and his orangutan. It’s a film about a man fighting in bars and travelling across America that also features a orangutan. All the scenes that Eastwood shares with his beautiful primate friend are exceptional (as you can imagine), prompting the Hollywood legend to proclaim that the orangutan (who was named Manis in real life) was ‘…one of the most natural actors I ever worked with’. Quite. But there isn’t enough of it. Instead, scenes stretch out seemingly forever, with the editor either awfully indulgent or asleep at the wheel.
Every Which Way but Loose takes a solid gold premise and somehow makes it weirdly… dull. It’s not a bad film, but it’s definitely in the lower echelon of the Eastwood oeuvre. It is a sinking feeling indeed to know that I will inevitably watch the sequel at some point.
