Product: Coyote Ugly [VHS]
Rating: 2.0
Coy, prudish recycling of 'Flashdance'
Many who watch Coyote Ugly will find themselves feeling the story is very familiar. There are some good reasons for that. One is that Jerry Bruckheimer, one of the most successful producers of all time, insists that his movies be done by the numbers. As a result, while most people in the business are envious of his financial success, you'll rarely find him grabbing awards on Oscar night. Mr. Bruckheimer is also a firm believer in recycling. Sixteen years ago, he produced a big hit called Flashdance, in which a determined and beautiful girl worked as a dancer in a fancy bar until she was able to become a dancer in the theater. In Coyote Ugly a girl so similar as to be a clone works as a dancer and bartender in a huge bar until she can make it as a songwriter. In both movies, the girl is mentored into stardom by a handsome young man because, I suppose, we are still saddled by the odd notion that, not only can a woman not make it without a man, she has to sleep with him, too. I am certain that Mr. Bruckheimer would claim that the guy is still around to give a movie dramatic appeal, but I would argue that it says that the more things change, the more they remain the same in Hollywood.Violet Sanford [Piper Perabo] moves to New York City from New Jersey. Dad [John Goodman] doesn't approve, but this being a by the numbers movie, we all know from the start that he'll come around. In New York, Violet takes cassettes of her songs around to the big music companies. They virtually throw her out on her ear. One night a tape winds up in the hands of a charming cook named Kevin [Adam Garcia], and he realizes what we know even though we haven't yet heard the songs: Violet is a super talented writer. Meanwhile, she lands a job at a bar called Coyote Ugly. In this establishment premium liquor is sold in shot glasses. That's all they sell. When the girls aren't too busy pouring shots or spraying customers who ask for water in the face with the same, they get up on the bar and dance. The crowd goes wild. This is the kind of place that only exists in a movie.Coyote Ugly has in its favor a very high energy level and a very pretty cast. It has a great many familiar songs, mostly from the 80s, in it, thus assuring brisk soundtrack sales. Its original songs, unfortunately, are unlikely to still be being played in the 2020s. Perabo is a charming and talented actress, and better parts are bound to come her way. For her, this movie is merely a stepping stone.Bruckheimer is a pro at sniffing out the winds of change, and he knew that the summer of 2000 would be one in which the 'PG-13' rating would rule. This was not due to Hollywood's sudden taking of the moral high ground. It was due to saber rattling coming from Washington and to the fact that Hollywood's core audience is now so young that many of its member aren't supposed to be able to buy tickets to 'R' rated fare. The result of Bruckehiemer's having copped out is that Coyote Ugly, which by it's very nature should have been 'R' rated, comes off as coy and prudish. There are many times when we want to say 'for shame' to producers whose use of gratuituous sex and violence earns their movies an 'R' rating. Still, there are times when it is somehow dishonest NOT to go the restricted route, and Coyote Ugly is a good example.