Coyote Ugly is a romantic comedy/drama based on the actual Coyote Ugly Saloon, set in New York City, and released in August 2000 (See 2000 in film). The film stars Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia. It was directed by David McNally, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman and written by Gina Wendkos.
Plot
Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo), leaves her hometown, her father Bill (John Goodman), and best friend Gloria (Melanie Lynskey) to pursue her dreams in New York City. When leaving town to become a songwriter, she signs an autograph, which is pinned on the wall of the pizza place where she worked. The wall has many other autographs signed by the rest of the small town employees that left town hoping to make it big.
Violet tries unsuccessfully, dozens of times, to get her demo tape noticed by the studios. With only a few dollars left in her pocket, she goes to an all-night diner and notices some girls flaunting the hundreds of dollars in tips they earned. After inquiring, she finds out that they work at a trendy bar named Coyote Ugly. She finds her way to the bar and convinces the bar owner Lil (Maria Bello) to hire her. Lil hires her, and explains she did so because Violet looks like a kindergarten teacher who the childish bar patrons will come to see. After starting her job, she quickly discovers she must learn the ropes of singing, dancing, and performing wild acts before a rowdy crowd.
One night, she tries to get herself noticed by a music industry scout. The bartender jokingly points out Kevin O'Donnell, played by Adam Garcia, making her believe that he is the bar owner. When the joke is discovered, Violet feels that Kevin was making a fool out of her. This event eventually brings them closer together. Kevin tries to help her in overcoming her shyness on the stage and they finally become lovers, in spite of his attempt to hide his past and departure from Australia. She finally lands a deal with a record label after a successful performance at an open mic night at the Bowery Ballroom, which was attended by all of the 'Coyotes' from the Coyote Ugly saloon.
Production
Kevin Smith, who did an uncredited rewrite of the script, stated that a total of eight writers worked on the script while the Writers Guild of America only gave credit to Gina Wendkos, who wrote the first draft of the script, which, according to Smith, little-resembles the final film.[2] (See WGA screenwriting credit system.)
Early on, before the producers decided to cast mostly unknown actors for the movie, the lead role of Violet Sanford was offered to pop singer Jessica Simpson, who turned it down.[3]
Reception
Coyote Ugly was generally panned by critics,[1][2] who saw it as little more than an excuse to portray "hot, sexy women dancing on a bar in a wet T-shirt contest."[3] Even askmen.com admitted that while "incredibly attractive" women "flaunt that fact" in the film, "that's all there is". (AskMen.com's audience does rate the film 88/100, however.)[4]
Unrated edition
In summer 2005 an unrated special edition of the film (the original release was rated PG-13 and the director's cut rated R) was released on DVD. The extended cut adds approximately six minutes to the film's runtime, most of which consists of additional shots of the "coyotes" dancing on the bar and of Violet and Cammie (Izabella Miko) trying on different outfits while shopping. Arguably the most notable additions are the extension of the sex scene between Violet and Kevin (Piper Perabo used a body double for most of the scene), and the inclusion of an additional scene, which shows the "coyotes" winning a softball game because Cammie distracts the pitcher by stripping. (The special features of the extended cut DVD are identical with those of the previous DVD release.)
Cast
Soundtracks
The film's soundtrack features Violet's four songs from the movie, performed by LeAnn Rimes, as well as several other songs not exclusive to the film. It achieved gold status within one month of its release on August 1, 2000 and platinum status by early November. The only single released from the album, LeAnn Rimes' "Can't Fight the Moonlight", also achieved gold status, became a nearly instant hit on the radio charts and peaked at #11 on The Billboard Hot 100.[4] The soundtrack was certified 4x Platinum on July 22, 2008.
A second soundtrack, More Music from Coyote Ugly, with more songs that appeared in the film and remixes of two of Rimes' songs, followed in 2003.
Coyote Ugly soundtrack
- "Can't Fight the Moonlight" by LeAnn Rimes
- "Please Remember" by LeAnn Rimes
- "The Right Kind Of Wrong" by LeAnn Rimes
- "But I Do Love You" by LeAnn Rimes
- "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" by Don Henley
- "Unbelievable" by EMF
- "The Power" by Snap!
- "Need You Tonight" by INXS
- "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by The Charlie Daniels Band
- "Boom Boom Boom" by Rare Blend
- "Didn't We Love" by Tamara Walker
- "We Can Get There" (TP2K Hot Radio Mix) by Mary Griffin
Chart positions
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 2001 |
Australian ARIA Albums Chart |
1 |
More Music from Coyote Ugly
- "One Way or Another" by Blondie
- "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol
- "Rock This Town" by Stray Cats
- "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" by The Georgia Satellites
- "Out Of My Head" by Fastball
- "Battle Flag (Lo-Fidelity Allstars Remix)" by Pigeonhed
- "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock
- "Love Machine" by The Miracles
- "We Can Get There (Almighty Radio Edit)" by Mary Griffin
- "Can't Fight The Moonlight (Graham Stack Radio Edit)" (bonus track) by LeAnn Rimes
- "But I Do Love You (Almighty Radio Edit)" (bonus track) by LeAnn Rimes
Other songs in the film
The following songs appear in the movie, but on neither of the two soundtracks that were released.
Trivia
- It was based on an article, "The Muse of the Coyote Ugly Saloon," in GQ by Elizabeth Gilbert, who worked as a bartender in the East Village. The bar which opened in 1993 quickly became a favorite of the Lower East Side hipsters.
- The slang term "coyote ugly" refers to the feeling of waking up after a one-night stand, and discovering that your arm is underneath someone who is so physically repulsive that you would gladly gnaw it off without waking the person just so you can get away without being discovered. Coyotes are known to gnaw off limbs if they are stuck in a trap in order to facilitate escape.
- The film has a cameo appearance by Johnny Knoxville, pre-Jackass fame, and also a performance by the band The Calling, also before the fame brought by their debut album Camino Palmero.
- Alex Borstein of Mad TV & Family Guy fame also has a cameo appearance as one of the businesswomen who bid on Violet's father in the final sequence.
- The band playing at the end of the film is Chalk FarM.
- Although Piper Perabo was able to sing for her character, it was decided that LeAnn Rimes would provide Violet's singing voice, albeit with a deliberate deviation from her natural vocal range. This means that during LeAnn's cameo in the movie, she is effectively duetting with herself.
- Michael Bay makes a cameo as a photographer.
References
External links
