Coyote Ugly (2000)

Released in 2000, "Coyote Ugly" is a drama starring Piper Perabo as a singer/composer who leaves her home in nearby New Jersey with her dad (John Goodman) to try her hand at the music business in the big city. For money, she gets a gig at a nightclub hotspot where the female workers dance on top of the bar for entertainment, amongst other things, like dumping ice on customers now and then, spraying others with the soda gun and occasionally pouring liquor on the bar and setting it aflame (Why Sure!). Maria Bello plays the owner of the bar while Adam Garcia plays the girl's potential beau.Perabo plays a thoroughly winsome heroine and the movie's fun with a kinetic soundtrack (with, for example, "Pour Some Sugar on Me" playing twice). After the first act though the movie never really takes off and the story becomes predictably bland, albeit still entertaining.While the movie wasn't a big hit, it was moderately successful at the box office and has become a semi-iconic film. A mere 2 years after its release I was in Las Vegas and there was an establishment called Coyote Ugly with an alluring woman dancing out front on a raised platform to draw in customers. That was my first exposure to "Coyote Ugly" and I asked my brother-in-law about it; to which he informed me it was a movie. One of the problems with the film is that the girl dancing out front of that Vegas nightclub was far more fetching than any of the actresses dancing in the movie. The women simply aren't curvy enough to engender much fascination. Perabo is arguably the best, followed by blond cutie Izabella Miko, but Miko and the rest (e.g. Bridget Moynahan and Melanie Lynskey) seriously looked like they needed to gain about 15 lbs. at least. But, I suppose if you like women with the shape of 12 year-old boys you might appreciate this element more than me.Another problem is the emphasis on the nightclub lifestyle and the soused antics thereof. If bars are your thang then you'll probably favor this movie more than I did. Thankfully, the protagonists eschew the drunkard lifestyle and the movie's to be commended for this (the filmmakers obviously wanted to "have their cake and eat it too").But those are minor quibbles. The biggest problem with "Coyote Ugly," beyond the story being predictable, is that there's no meat on the bones, so to speak. Take the subplot with the boyfriend and his big revelation scene; it was underwhelming and weakly executed, to say the least. Moreover, I just saw the movie last night and I can't even remember if the protagonist "makes it" in the music business at the end. That's how forgettable the film is.A couple of years after the flick was released my wife asked a 9 year-old girl what her favorite movie was and she enthusiastically said "Coyote Ugly!" That tells you something about the film's depth.The picture runs 100 minutes and was shot in South Amboy, New Jersey; Atlantic Beach, Long Island; New York City; and Tower Theatre & Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles. DIRECTOR: David McNally. WRITER: Gina Wendkos.GRADE: C+

A lot of the movies I write reviews for are branded 'amazingly bad' nearly every single time and more often than never, I'm left sitting there going, 'did you even watch the damn movie?' Because sometimes, that's how I feel. Sure, I'm all open for people to share their opinions but there's just some out there that make me want to tap them to a chair and play the movie over and over again.Anyway, that's exactly how I feel with this movie. I've read reviews where they judge even the music they use during the film, which is ridiculous - the music choices in Coyote Ugly just help make it.This is a story about Violet Sanford; an aspiring musician who moves to the big apple in hope of getting a record deal. So, that doesn't happen as easily as Violet had hoped and in order to gain some easy money, she becomes a bartender. Oh! But, not just ANY bartender - A Coyote. Sounds fun, doesn't it? They dance on the bar and guys buy them drinks (which they subsequently hardly ever drink). There is a lot of reason behind the making of this film. I mean, for one, it's a Jerry Bruckheimer film; Mr Big himself. So, just because the movie isn't something along the lines of CSI: Miami, doesn't mean it's not worth the watch. It's funny, it has romance, drunk hot guys... drunk hot girls! C'mon, you have to hand it to them - the whole cast made the film good, great even.Personally, I love this movie, I would've given this a 10/10 BUT I had to take into consideration what other people thought. I mean, whether you watch the Director's Cut or the cinema version, it's still worth the watch. Don't take any one review for granted, watch it for yourself. Solicit Opinions. It's totally worth it. I give this 8/10. Thankyou!

The most clever scene in Coyote Ugly is when Maria Bello explains why the bar is named what it is. She says it's when a woman wakes up in bed with a man after a one night stand and he's so ugly, but you have your arm around him because last night he seemed hot. Desperate, but not wanting to be rude, instead of pulling your arm out from under him you try to chew it off like a trapped coyote. That my friends, is Coyote Ugly.It was much to my surprise that Kevin Smith actually did a rewrite of the film's script at one point. I would imagine if Smith's version was made into the final film that it would be less about the girl's bodies and more about their problems. Instead of so many overhead shots of women dancing on one another, soaked in water, comparing wet t-shirts, I'm sure there would've been more sincere dialog between Violet and her friends. Maybe we would've gotten to know them better. It's all one big "maybe." The film centers around Violet (Perabo), an aspiring songwriter trying to make it in the complicated and relentless world of music. She tries to get her demo tape heard, but is always met with reps that blow her off. Violet leaves home and goes to New York to try her look, but realizing she needs to make end's meet, she goes to work at a bar called "Coyote Ugly" where she will entertain customers by seductively dancing on the bar countertop while pouring drinks and showering her and her fellow employees with water. That's the extent of it.In the meantime, Violet dates a shady guy who she had mistaken for a record exec (Garcia). Let me ask Violet, do you think it's a good idea to date a guy who just tried to pass himself off as a guy who could get you a record deal and doesn't discuss any of his past? Does he seem like the dream guy mothers would want their daughters to date, and could have a good ol' day out with the father? I neglected to mention that the club is run by Lil (Bello). Lil, full name Liliana Lovell, actually runs the real-life Coyote Ugly in New York. Maria Bello was excellent in The Cooler, and does more sure-fire work in this picture. She is still as hilarious as ever, and plays a very strict, yet laidback bartender.Coyote Ugly, even in possession of a decent storyline, is ruined by its own immaturity. There are too many overhead shots of women on the bar countertop that go nowhere and aren't arousing or entertaining at all. I appreciate John Goodman's role as Violet's protective and caring dad, but the scenes with him are far to spread out and far too short to fully enjoy. I imagine if Kevin Smith was responsible for writing the entire screenplay maybe the movie would've been more about the daddy/daughter relationship rather than the women.The story isn't gripping, but it works for a while. Until the bar comes into play. Then it's down to twelve year olds controlling the camera. Piper Perabo is gorgeous, and is one of the most underrated actresses in Hollywood today in terms of looks and acting skills. She still hasn't had that "breakout" role that has taken her career to new heights. Surprisingly, as juvenile as this picture can be, this really didn't jump-start any future projects for her. Nor anyone else in this film.Starring: Piper Perabo, Adam Garcia, Maria Bello, and John Goodman. Directed by: David McNally.

Coyote Ugly is a film that I have to admit I was looking forward to watching, I'm not normally a fan of rom-coms, but this film had been described to me as a raunchy teen drama so I thought it was worth a watch. However imagine my disappointment when I realised it was basically just a boy meet girl film all over again only with a bar where girls dance and sing.After 15 minutes I was bored and ready to turn it off when there came a scene that made me stick around to watch the rest, the scene is when Violet is having breakfast and the other "coyotes" walk in. The scene isn't a fantastic one but it was enough to keep me watching and I have to admit I enjoyed the film for a small time in the middle. It was thrilling to watch the girls dance of the bar and the way in which customers where served and pelted with water if they ordered it, it was just a shame to see it ruined so soon and revert back to the badly written rom-com it had begun.The last ten minutes are in all honesty probably the worst last ten minutes of a film I have seen in a long time, honestly beginning with the toll booths stupid light flashing, the ridiculous u-turn the turning off the power; then Le-Ann Rhymes appearing and everyone being happy it was stupid and to end the film with the biggest cliché of all other than a freeze frame... a slow motion kiss, was ridiculous and took away all the enjoyment I had from the mid-section of the film.This film is not raunchy and it is not a teen drama, my friend has lied to me and I cannot help feeling that nearly two hours of my life has been completely wasted and wish I had turned it off after the appalling start.5/10