Film Review: Coyote Ugly (2000)

A name on the poster is more likely to tell you what to expect on the big screen than film’s marketing. One of the more telling examples can be found in Coyote Ugly, 2000 drama directed by David MacNally.

The film is based on the 1997 book by journalist and author Elizabeth Gilbert in which she described has experience as young bartender in Coyote Ugly, table dancing bar in New York City. Her alter ego in the film is Violet Sanford (played by Piper Perabo), 21-year old woman from South Amboy who dreams of going to New York to pursue career of singer and songwriter. After her father William (played by John Goodman) reluctantly sets her on her way, she realises that the path to fame and fortune is much harder than she imagined. No record producer bothers to listen to her demo tape and, while trying to perform live, she discovers that suffers from devastating stage fright. After her apartment gets robbed, she is left with no money and forced to seek job at the place unbecoming to good provincial girl. Coyote Ugly is bar where waitresses are all attractive and scantily clad women who provoke male patrons with their outrageous behaviour. Violet is nevertheless happy when she passes audition by owner Lil (played by Maria Bello). She starts working and soon meets Kevin O’Donnell (played by Adam Garcia), young Australian immigrant who falls in love with her and wants to help her deal with stage fright and actually start singing career.

On paper, Coyote Ugly looks like “small” and female-friendly romantic comedy. However, this film was also produced by Jerry Bruckheimmer, film maker made (in)famous for delivering content directed at primarily male audience, which usually included smashing cars, loud soundtrack and scantily clad women. That kind of content can also be found in Coyote Ugly, just as Bruckheimmer takes great care that the cast is made mostly of women more likely to appear in fashion shows than as main characters of an average Hollywood film. Here they are represented by famous model Tyra Banks and Polish actress Izabella Miko; what is interesting that both of those characters, despite their feminine looks, act in a strangely masculine way and look more like archetypes from action films like Top Gun than those in romantic comedies. Although there aren’t action scenes in the film, all-night partying and mayhem in the bar is directed by David McNally in very dynamic action-oriented style. Some of those scenes even manage to transcend limitations of late 1990s Hollywood prudishness and look attractive despite characters, bound by PG-13 rating, having their vocabularies stripped of profanities and any hint of eroticism remaining as implicit as possible. Despite some critics ironically calling this film “Showgirls without nudity”, those segments of the film are the most valuable.

Unfortunately, directing skills of David McNally weren’t matched by quality of script, which had, according to some claims, eight different authors (with Kevin Smith and Carrie Fisher being most notable among them). Plot that should anchor the attractive content is made of the corniest possible cliches, often drowning in sentimentalism and predictability. The cast, although hired mostly because of looks, is more than decent. Piper Perabo, which looks like a possible successor of Julia Robetrs on the throne of Hollywood romantic comedy, valiantly does her sometimes thankless job, unlike Adam Garcia who is quite forgettable. Maria Bello is very good as protagonist’s boss, while always reliable character actor John Goodman plays protagonist’s loving father. Despite being, mostly justifiably, panned by critics, Coyote Ugly was huge success during its theatrical run. Today’s audience, on the other hand, is likely to see it as strange curiosity rather than source of genuine entertainment.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

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