Any Which Way You Can is the 1980 sequel to the hit comedy, Every Which Way But Loose, a movie that I always have a lot of fun with. With the first movie being such a big hit, a sequel was quickly greenlit, and in addition to getting Clint Eastwood back as bare-knuckle boxing legend Philo, most of the cast from that first movie also returned, the only real notable absentee is Beverly D’Angelo.
How to Download Any Which Way You Can
Any Which Way You Can was released on December 17, 1980. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
Philo is still doing his thing from the last movie. Philo still lives with his orangutan Clyde his mom and his brother Orville. However, he is thinking of quitting the bare-knuckle boxing game as he has noticed it is really starting to affect him. Once again, Clint Eastwood is just awesome as Philo. He is a tough guy with a body and mind of steel, but you can tell that he has a heart of gold.
The woman he fell in love with in the first movie, country singer Lynne comes back into his life. Lynne and Philo hit it off and move in together, but their happiness is short-lived thanks to the mafia! There is a new up and comer in the world of bare-knuckle boxing called Jack Wilson and the mafia wants to pit him against Philo as they think it will make a ton of money. Philo, due to his new life does not want to be a part of this and just be left alone.
Of course, the mafia are not going to allow this, so they kidnap Lynne and force Philo to compete against Jack! I really liked Jack and on paper, you would think that he would just be some kind of meathead enforcer type character, but he has a lot of depth, and the fight between him and Philo is a ton of fun as they respect each other.
The Return of The Black Widows Biker Gang
As well as this, the biker gang from the first movie, The Black Widows are back. The Black Widows are still holding a grudge against Philo from the last movie and there is a super fun chase scene here. I also really liked the way that the whole thing with The Black Widows came full circle at the end of the movie.
Final Thoughts: A Fun Yet Unnecessary Sequel
On one hand. Any Which Way You Can is a totally unnecessary sequel, but it is fun to see these characters again. I do think that I ever so slightly prefer the first movie, but these are always a fun back-to-back kind of watch for me. I grew up loving these movies and I think that they still have a lot of charm to them to this day. I do think that they are a product of their time though as I could see why a kid (just as my son!) these days would not think they are that great.
Viewing Quality and Streaming Options
I get that some people have moved on and just stream all their movies these days and that is great and I certainly stream a ton of movies myself. However, Any Which Way You Can and Every Which Way But Loose have never been upgraded to 4K and the Blu-Ray is about as half assed as you can get when it comes to upgrading a movie into HD. With the way that these are shot, I think they could look pretty damn good if they were given a full 4K restoration.
