Coyote Ugly (2000)

The Long Review:

Coyote Ugly has got to be the most excruciatingly awaited film of the summer..especially if you're a healthy, red-blooded male. It's a film parading 5 hot female bartenders who not only serve drinks but also whoopee. By gyrating on the bar. Wearing skimpy leather. Wet. Now doesn't that sound tantalizing, men?

Coyote Ugly tells the story of Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo), a naïve girl from Jersey who treks the 42 miles from her hometown to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming a songwriter. Broke, alone, and waiting for her big break, she takes a job tending bar at a joint known not for the drinks it serves, but for the babes that serve the drinks. The women behind the bar are not just bartenders. They're entertainers…in every sense of the word. This is the world of Coyote Ugly.

Coyote Ugly is a really entertaining film. The plot may be simple and predictable, the dialogue elementary, but the execution is excellent. The bottom line is, you have fun watching. And chances are, you're not seeing this film for its dramatic merit but because of its fun factor, not to mention its eye candy.

And you get a lot of good stuff: cool choreography involving fire and water, pumping music, kick-ass girl attitude, daring fashions on perfect bodies, a little drama here and there…and Piper Perabo. She truly is the star of this movie. She plays the part of sweet, innocent but totally sexy chick to a tee. You can't help but love her.

Her fellow coyotes aren't too bad, either. Each has her own personality and as an ensemble, they're great. Tyra Banks overacts in some parts but since she's a supermodel and not really an actress, she's excused. John Goodman is also good as Violet's father. Playing a tollbooth attendant who misses his daughter terribly after she moves out, the big guy really tugs at your heartstrings. And Adam Garcia as Violet's knight-in-shining-armour does a pretty good job, too. He doesn't overplay his role to the point where this film can be labeled as a (gasp!) chick flick.

Some people were worried about that. But Coyote Ugly, although telling the story of a sweet girl and her big dreams and her whirlwind romance, caters in a big way to the male population. Thus, it avoids the label chick flick by a long shot. It's more of a guy flick than anything, with all the bare female skin and female gyrating it showcases. Chick flick or guy pick, Coyote Ugly is indeed a blockbuster hit. Too bad it went by so fast. We sure wanted more!

Ebert's satisfaction:

ebert says	moviegurus say
Coyote Ugly is a cliff-hanger in which Piper Perabo ventures into a Jerry Bruckheimer production and escapes more or less untouched.	Whatcha talkin' about, Willis? Jerry Bruckheimer's da man! The latest movies he's produced have been terrific. Keep up the good work, Sir!
Bruckheimer and his director bring superb technical credits to this wheezy old story, and they add wall-to-wall music to make it sound like fun. But you can pump up the volume only so far before it becomes noise.	We agree that there were superb technical credits. But it wasn't a wheezy old story. Sure, it was predictable but still enjoyable! And that music wasn't noise. There were some really good tunes! What was it that we heard? That when you're old, everything that's louder than 2 decibels is noise? Hmmm…that could be why.
There is a reason to see the movie, and that reason is Piper Perabo.	Finally, you say something that actually makes sense. She makes us want to howl, a-hoooooooooo!! She beat out thousands for the lead, including Britney, Jewel, and LeAnn Rimes, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the place she learned her trade, Ohio U.