Product: Coyote Ugly [VHS]
Rating: 3.0
While this movie does entertain, it does have a weak storyline
The motion picture "Coyote Ugly" is a story that takes place in the world famous "Coyote Ugly" saloon in New York City. The "Coyote Ugly" saloon rose to fame in the 1990s. The saloon was the brainchild of Liliana "Lil" Lovell. The thing that distinguishes this saloon from many others is that "Coyote Ugly" features female bartenders dancing on the bar that often will challenge customers to drinking contests while performing outrageous antics. "Coyote Ugly" first rose to fame in 1997 when "Gentlemen's Quarterly" magazine published the experiences as told by a former "Coyote Ugly" barmaid named Elizabeth Gilbert. The publicity of this article along with the success of the New York bar would soon lead to the movie "Coyote Ugly". This movie basically is a movie that is set in a Hollywood version of the bar. While this movie will entertain the audience, it can't seem to overcome a weak storyline.One thing that I was immediately disappointed with is that "Coyote Ugly" isn't the story on how Lovell formed the "Coyote Ugly" saloon (which I think could have been the basis for an interesting story). Instead, producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson along with writer Gina Wenkos tell the story of an shy aspiring songwriter Violet Sanford (played by Piper Perabo) from South Amboy, New Jersey who leaves behind her father (played by John Goodman, who delivers one of his best performances) and a job at a local Pizza Parlor to pursue a songwriting career in New York City. When Violet arrives in New York, she realizes that breaking into the music business isn't all that it is cracked up to be. Desperate for work, Violet hears about an opening at the "Coyote Ugly" bar. Violet goes to meet Lil Lovell (played by Maria Bello) who sees something in Violet and decides to give her an audition. After some rough goes, Lil eventually hires Violet on a regular basis. The shy Violet will at first be uncomfortable with the aggressive nature of the bar, but will soon grow into the role while keeping it a secret from her father At the same time, Violet develops a relationship with Kevin O'Donnell (played by Adam Garcia) who convinces Violet to overcome her remaining shyness and sing her songs herself. Eventually, her job at Coyote Ugly, her quest to try to sing her songs, the relationship with Kevin, and her relationship with her father will all reach a head.One of the main reasons why Coyote Ugly will entertain is because of the dancing and the soundtrack. The dance scenes in the bar are spectacular. Although the bar scenes are exaggerated from what actually goes on in the saloon. they are going to entertain you. Director David McNally does a sensational job at putting integrating music throughout the movie - whether it is a bar scene or not. While this film did spawn two soundtrack albums ("Coyote Ugly" and "More Music from Coyote Ugly"), it is worth noting that there are a few songs in the movie not found on the soundtracks (most notably, Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me"). The music and dancing come together perfectly when the Coyote Dancers perform The Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia".The movie has two noteworthy performances. John Goodman is the perfect person to play Bill Sanford - Violet's father. He brings the perfect balance of humor and sensitivity that is needed for the role. While I am not a Goodman fan, I really enjoyed his performance. The other standout performance is delivered by rising star Bridget Moynahan who plays the Rachel - a dancer with attitude who will give Violet a hard time at working at the bar. Playing this kind of a role was something new to Moynahan and she pulls it off flawlessly.Unfortunately the story just isn't that strong to support the music or the performances of Goodman and Moynahan. The weak storyline is seen throughout the movie, but probably is best illustrated in the scenes where Violet first goes to work at the bar. To me, the story doesn't do a good job at convincing me how Lil Lovell sees something in the shy Violet Sanford that she hires her for an audition and then give her several chances to secure a job at the bar. I didn't like the way that Violet overcame her early struggles in working at the bar - it seemed too scripted to me. In general, the "Coyote Ugly" bar serves as a backdrop for the story of the movie - but I would have preferred the movie to revolve more around the bar and the Coyote dancers that worked there. Namely, they could have done so much more to develop the character of Rachel as well as a lesser-extent Lil and another dancer named Cammie.Perhaps one of the big letdowns of the movie is Adam Garcia. Garcia is famous for his outstanding portrayal of Tony Manero in the London stage version of "Saturday Night Fever". Garcia is someone who has shown real talent. Although Garcia doesn't do a bad job in the movie, the film doesn't do a good job at utilizing his talents (for example there is only one big dance scene with Garcia). I would have liked to see Garcia have more interactions with some of the other characters - for example, interactions with Violet's overprotective father would have been very interesting.It is worth noting that Supermodel Tyra Banks and singer Leann Rimes have cameo roles in this movie.Overall the movie will entertain - especially from a musical standpoint and a comedic standpoint. The ending is actually pretty good as well. However, the shortcomings of the storyline are going to be too much to overcome. You may be a bit disappointed if you have been to the "Coyote Ugly" saloon. This might not be a movie you watch over and over, but it is still worth checking out.