"Cocktail" meets "Flashdance"; Perabo is the film's saving grace

Rating: Null/10 (28 April 2004)

COYOTE UGLY (2000) ** Piper Perabo, Maria Bello, Adam Garcia, Melanie Lynskey, Izabella Miko, Bridget Moynahan, Tyra Banks, John Goodman, Bud Cort. 'Cocktail' meets 'Flashdance' could have been the pitch for this dead in the water update of the old 'bright eyed girl with a dream moves to the big city' chestnut, this time around with energy to spare Perabo as a naïve New Jersey budding songwriter who embarks to The Big Apple wide eyed and bushy tailed and winds up as a bartender at the infamous eponymous establishment where she gets some life lessons, a well-meaning boyfriend and a chance to prove herself. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, master of the no-brainer and low expectation ratio, the storyline is trite, dialogue laughable, situations ridiculous and many of the characters one dimensional. Make of it what you will and yes that is LeAnn Rimes (who also has a cameo) dubbing Perabo's singing. (Dir: David McNally)