# Coyote Ugly (2000)

### reviewed by
Brandon Herring

    Rating: * *˝ out of * * * *

    Rated: PG-13 for sexual content.

Starring: Piper Perabo, Maria Bello, Adam Garcia, John Goodman, Melanie Lynskey, Izabella Miko, Bridget Moynahan, Tyra Banks, Del Pentecost, Michael Weston.

    Directed by: David McNally

Jerry Bruckheimer has struck gold in his career. He has many action blockbusters on his hand, for instance already this year he as the $95+ million grosser "Gone in 60 Seconds", and in the past we've seen movies from him such as "Con Air", "Armaggedon" and more. Now he returns to his "Flashdance" route and has produced "Coyote Ugly" a "Flashdance" meets "Cocktail" type movie, but minus the male in "Cocktail" and add the female character from "Flashdance" and boom you have "Coyote Ugly" a glitzy, well-directed, plotless feature that is admittedly entertaining.

Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo) has been writing songs for along time her life now. She has always wanted to go to New York, 42 miles from the house she has lived in for 21 years, and write music and make it big in the world. She leaves the house and her loving father (John Goodman) to go to New York, everyone's dream place to live and try to make herself something. She gets a job at a bar entitled "Coyote Ugly" which you will find out what exactly that means when you watch the movie, but this is no ordinary bar to say the least "Coyote Ugly" is a bar where the waitresses dance on the bar, to hip music while horny men (and women) watch and cheer them on.

After she doesn't find much success in her music career, she is given this job as a fluke, and quickly and fortunately becomes very popular. People come nightly to see her, she has friends in the Big Apple, and success as she always wanted, though not the success she quite wanted. Violet then meets a handsome young man named Kevin O'Donnell who is well played by Adam Garcia. The two hit it off, but he is a bit skeptical about her dancing on this bar, while guys throw money at her. He is an australian cook at a greasy fast food bar, and her life in New York begins.

What really disappointed me about "Coyote Ugly" was the plot, of course if you really want to call it a plot. This so called plot is to thin, that you can virtually see through it. It was virtually your usual; want to go to New York to make it big type movie, and really doesn't work. I was entertained throughout the film, but in the last thirty minutes the movie takes a devastating turn to the worst and turns sappy and overbaked. This movie would have been really good had it have a solid plot, and even from the trailers you can even tell there wasn't much of a plot.

Besides being full of cliches, "Coyote Ugly" still delivers the goods. The direction by David McNally is very well done, and the bar scenes are extremely glitzy and glamorous and I found myself at times dancing (a little) in my chair. Well-edited and timed, these scenes are the highlight of the movie, and are extremely sexy and almost erotic at times. In a way its a bit like "Cocktail" and "Flashdance" in these scenes, they are very well utilized, and mixed with some great music we have. One scene with water is definitely the highlight of the bar scenes.

Acting department is credible, with Piper Perabo being the standout, her first big starring role (besides this past summers "Rocky and Bullwinkle"). Perabo is a talent, and in this movie its shows, even though she isn't really given that much to work with, what she has she uses well and brings out her character the best she can. She is a beautiful and talented actress, who is on her way to bigger things. Of course the supporting cast Maria Bello as Violet's boss Lil, is great too, and she has an edge to her that makes her character even more likable. John Goodman is as always a great actor, and doesn't disappoint here, he is comical and great to watch on the screen. The rest of the coyotes give good if somewhat bland at times performances.

Even with these flaws "Coyote Ugly" is in its own way a good movie. It never stopped entertaining me, and I was actually getting into it, somewhat despite there was little plot. The acting and bar scenes are really what make this a good film. It wouldn't be hard to recommend this movie, but I really can't say I loved it.

    Reviewed by Brandon Herring 8-5-00

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