Coyotes anything but ugly; movie foul

By Matthew Barrett

Daily Film Editor

How ugly is ugly? "Coyote Ugly" which refers to waking up in bed with your arm around someone so unattractive that you gnaw the arm off and bolt before they wake up and recognize you. This pearl of wisdom comes compliments of Lil (Maria Bello) who also happens to own a bar of the same name in New York City.

"Coyote Ugly" is a rock and rolling place where female bartenders dance on the bar in tight little outfits and make loads of money in tips from horny patrons. Which makes it the perfect spot for New Jersey import and aspiring songwriter Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo) to cut her teeth before she lands a big record contract.

Violet never seems too taken by the scene at the bar (someone observes that they knew right away she wasn't a lifer) and as the story progresses she becomes torn between the bar, her music career and her boyfriend. As a film, "Coyote Ugly" seems torn as well, never clear on whether it's a small town girl makes it in the big city story or a lusty sex romp. The film leans on John Goodman in the role of Violet's widowed father for bursts of comic relief and hard-hitting emotion that never seem to elicit the response they were after.

"Coyote Ugly" was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and bares many of the trademarks of his films - blaring music, lighting quick editing and a plot which pits an underdog hero against incredible odds. Or in other words, "Coyote Ugly" plays out more like a 90 minute music video than a well-done movie. Ridiculous and gratuitous scenes of the girls at the bar are followed by laughable shots of Violet crooning on her rooftop in the middle of the night.

Perhaps the only bright spot in the film, other than the explanation of its title, is the blink and you'll miss it appearance by Bud Cort ("Harold and Maude") as the owner of a pizza shop. On the other end of the cameo spectrum is a brief and ludicrous appearance by country singer LeAnn Rimes, who was included so that there could be a jamming musical number at the end to sway our hands to as we left the theater.

By trying to walk the line between several different genres "Coyote Ugly" ends up as an unappealing mess of a movie. Those behind the film would have been better off to either tell a simple story of girl makes it in New York City or - if they wanted to make a sex romp - go for the jugular as was done in the superior and seedier "Cruel Intentions."

As it is, the film was made to walk just along the edges of the PG-13 rating, hence the silhouettes and cutaway shots. And in the end, its attempts to appeal to all are attractive to none.

Courtesy of Touchstone

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