Great Film overall

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

There are many road movies out there, but not many with an with an Ape in tow.The plot moves on nicely as it gathers up more characters on Clint's trail throughout the film.In a way, rather similar to the Blue Brothers, but with more primates and knuckle fights. Comedy all the way through with some great acting except for Sandra Locke.Oh Clint - why did you succumb to that? And why on Earth did you marry her!If it's on TV I'm normally drawn back into it.Favourite scene? The Black Widow tattoo scene - hilarious!

Clint Eastwood was one of the few Hollywood stars from the early 1970s who was still popular by the end of the decade. Steve McQueen had deliberately reduced his output, Paul Newman was still fairly active, as were Robert Redford and Burt Reynolds. "Every Which Way But Loose," is more of a guilty pleasure than anything else. There is no plot to speak of, just a basic story about a bare knuckle brawler who befriends an orangutan. It sounds rather absurd but it is faintly endearing, strangely enough. The fight scenes are OK, if a bit on the lacklustre side! "Hard Times" with Bronson has better fight scenes. Geoffrey Lewis does a good job as Clint Eastwood's sidekick. The motorcycle gang become tiresome after a while.

The most popular of all Clint Eastwood films must be the two series of movies that featured an orang-utan called Clyde that steals the show as his co-star. The first being this one and Every Which Way You Can that appeared two years later. Despite its cult status and it might be comedy with usual cool Eastwood humour and dialogue, I don't really think its the most impressive of all Eastwood films mainly due to Eastwood sometimes losing his cool and there should be other films that are more superior than this one.Sometimes its a bit boring and its "reel let-down" must be the violence with the bare-knuckle punch contest in slight twirling dust, hence they should know better to Eastwood's discomfort and frenzied confrontation from his leading lady and regular co-star Sondra Locke whom would strangely enough re-appear in the next "orang-utan" film that doesn't really get better than the first and its a shame really.

I was amazed as I sat and watched this film. "Every Which Way But Loose" was the second highest grossing (no pun intended) film of 1978...and yet it's practically plot-less and a completely brainless film. It's not 100% terrible, but it is pretty bad--especially as the film becomes tiresome the longer it goes. But, despite this, because it made so much money (people were apparently VERY easy to please in 1978), they soon made a sequel--which I can pretty much guarantee you I'll never be watching! Clint Eastwood plays a guy who loves to bare knuckle fight. Often he does it to win prize money, often he does it just because someone irritated him. Throughout the film, Eastwood gets in one fight after another--and this tended to disrupt the plot--what little there was of it. Eventually, a group of bikers and off-duty cops who he's beaten up go looking for him. But, since Eastwood has gone on a road trip to find a woman he's smitten with (Sondra Locke), they spend much of the movie looking for him--and they end up going on a road trip after him.The film is absolutely stupid in parts. Clyde the Orangutan was at times a bit funny, but talk about contrived!! Ma (Ruth Gordon) cursed like a sailor and was violent. This was supposed to be funny, but like the ape, it wore thin pretty quickly. In addition, there is the dopey biker gang (sort of like the Three Stooges times three) who just seem too stupid and ineffectual to be anything other than comic relief. There are also fart jokes, belching, punch sound effects that make bad martial arts films seem realistic and the like thrown in to boot. It's really the sort of stuff 13 year-olds love laughing at--but I just thought it was all pretty tiresome and well beneath the talents of Eastwood. Add lots of punching and country music and you pretty much get the point of the film. Fortunately, after wasting his time on this movie (and making a bazillion dollars) he went on to far better things. Geez...I feel stupider just for having watched the film!By the way, during the 'funny' sequence where the two guys are shooting at cans and spouting numbers, watch the can that is hit--you can see the strings pulling it!