Clint Eastwood in the 1980s Schickel argued that the character of Bronco Billy is Eastwood's most self-referential work. Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" wrote that the film was "the best and funniest Clint Eastwood movie in quite a while", praising Eastwood's directing and the way he intricately juxtaposes the old West and the new. Later in 1980, he reprised his role in the sequel to "Every Which Way But Loose" entitled "Any Which Way You Can". The film was another box-office success and was among the top five highest-grossing films of the year. Later on Wednesday, December 17, 1980 he appeared in the
Every Which Way but Loose (film) Eddie Rabbitt song from the soundtrack, in which the singer complains that his girlfriend turns him "every which way but loose"; i.e., he cannot bring himself to leave her although he is more of a freewheeling character. Upon its release, the film was a surprising success and became Eastwood's most commercially successful film at the time. It ranks high amongst those of his career, and was the second-highest-grossing film of 1978. It received largely negative reviews, however. Critic David Ansen of "Newsweek", described the film as a "plotless junk heap of moronic gags, sour romance and fatuous fisticuffs." and "the