Coyote Ugly – Cinema

Distributed by
Buena VistaViewed at
UCI, Trafford Centre

• Cert:
• Running time: 100 minutes
• Year: 2000
• Released: 20th October 2000
• Widescreen Ratio : 2.35:1
• Rating: 2/10

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Director:

David McNally

(Coyote Ugly, Down and Under)

Producers:

Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Osman

Screenplay:

Gina Wendkos

Original Score :

Trevor Horn

Cast :

Violet “Jersey” Sanford: Piper Perabo
Lil: Maria Bello
Kevin O’Donnell: Adam Garcia
Cammie: Izabella Miko
Gloria: Melanie Lynskey
Zoe: Tyra Banks
Rachel: Bridget Moynahan
William Sanford: John Goodman
Herself: LeAnn Rimes

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Coyote Uglyis Cocktail meets Showgirls – but the 12-certificate ensures there’s nogratuitous nudity – and is the name of the bar in New York that attracts good-lookinggals to pour drinks and provide a cabaret for the punters, in return for huge tips(*I* said tips!)

The story, such that it is, centres around 21-year-old Violet Sanford(Piper Perabo, an identical copy of All Saint Melanie Blatt), an aspiringsinger-songwriter who dreams of making ithappen in the Big Apple, but in order to earn a crust she learns of a vacancyat the aforementioned bar and lands the job on a trial basis, although everyonehas to have a “cool” name when they join so she becomes ‘Jersey’, the place fromwhere she hails, working alongside cold-hearted Rachel (Bridget Moynahan),blonde bombshell Cammie (Izabella Miko), the departing Zoe (model Tyra Banks,who leaves early before she outstays her welcome onscreen) and the bar’s bitch of anowner Lil (Maria Bello, best known as Dr. Del Amico in E.R. and also had arole in Permanent Midnight).

Love is in the air too while she’s trying to get herself noticed and she gets to knowAustroylian club chef Kevin O’Donnell (Adam Garcia) by getting the idea he ownsthe club in which he works, as opposed to just flipping the burgers. The cast is madecomplete with Melanie Lynskey as Gloria – Jersey’s best friend from home -and her father William (John Goodman).

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The ‘Coyote Ugly’ girls: Jersey, Zoe, Lil, Rachel & Cammie

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It’s at this point, given the film’s predictability, that I might write something like,“What starts with an interesting premise…”, but it doesn’t really. You’d sometimesexpect that a film with such a pedestrian plotline may have some surprises thrown in, butit doesn’t.

As soon as Jersey arrives in New York and gets a horrible, cheap flat, the second she startsup her Bontempi keyboard organ, someone bangs on the wall because they’re even thinner thanthose found in Prisoner: Cell Block H. When she starts throwing the bottles aboutbehind the bar, she drops all the drinks before she getts the hang of it.

Her father disapproves but learns to love her career choice in the end and even joins in(heaven help you when you see that scene). Before she leaves for town, she tells him toease up on the junk food and stick to a healty diet. He ignores her and ends up in hospital,but for a different reason which I’ll leave you to discover (ooh, the suspense!)

Jersey and Kevin fall out because she thinks he’s cheating on her, but like in a soapopera, the characters ALWAYS get the wrong end of the stick. He was just selling his flatto another girl instead of taking her home for a bit of the “one, two, buckle my shoe”.

As is the want of the newbie singer-songwriter, she gets stagefright when appearing atother clubs – something she has to learn to overcome, but has no problem standing up tosing on the bar at work. She also lets things get to her too easily and decides to movehome again, but is enticed back to the bar before the end credits roll.

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What’s happened to Jerry Bruckheimer? He normally makes blistering, fastaction-packed films, but Gone in 60 Seconds was disappointing in the main untilthe final half-gour and this is just plain disappointing!

Overall, this is a film for women who can’t see past the stereotypes and mistake thosecavorting about for strong-willed independent women. Oh, and it’s for LeAnn Rimesfans too as she pops up towards the end to join in the chaos. She sings herNo.1 single, “Can’t Fight the Moonlight”, although it sounds exactlylike Aqua‘s “Barbie Girl” !

Visit theOfficial Coyote Ugly website.

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000.

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