Violet "Jersey" Sanford: Piper Perabo
Lil: Maria Bello
Kevin O'Donnell: Adam Garcia
Cammie: Izabella Miko
Gloria: Melanie Lynskey
Zoe: Tyra Banks
Rachel: Bridget Moynahan
William Sanford: John Goodman
Herself: LeAnn Rimes
Coyote Ugly
is Cocktail meets Showgirls - but the 12-certificate ensures there's no
gratuitous nudity - and is the name of the bar in New York that attracts good-looking
gals to pour drinks and provide a cabaret for the punters, in return for huge tips
(*I* said tips!)
The story, such that it is, centres around 21-year-old Violet Sanford
(Piper Perabo, an identical copy of All Saint Melanie Blatt), an aspiring
singer-songwriter who dreams of making it
happen in the Big Apple, but in order to earn a crust she learns of a vacancy
at the aforementioned bar and lands the job on a trial basis, although everyone
has to have a "cool" name when they join so she becomes 'Jersey', the place from
where she hails, working alongside cold-hearted Rachel (Bridget Moynahan),
blonde bombshell Cammie (Izabella Miko), the departing Zoe (model Tyra Banks,
who leaves early before she outstays her welcome onscreen) and the bar's bitch of an
owner Lil (Maria Bello, best known as Dr. Del Amico in E.R. and also had a
role in Permanent Midnight).
Love is in the air too while she's trying to get herself noticed and she gets to know
Austroylian club chef Kevin O'Donnell (Adam Garcia) by getting the idea he owns
the club in which he works, as opposed to just flipping the burgers. The cast is made
complete with Melanie Lynskey as Gloria - Jersey's best friend from home -
and her father William (John Goodman).
The 'Coyote Ugly' girls: Jersey, Zoe, Lil, Rachel & Cammie
It's at this point, given the film's predictability, that I might write something like,
"What starts with an interesting premise...", but it doesn't really. You'd sometimes
expect that a film with such a pedestrian plotline may have some surprises thrown in, but
it doesn't.
As soon as Jersey arrives in New York and gets a horrible, cheap flat, the second she starts
up her Bontempi keyboard organ, someone bangs on the wall because they're even thinner than
those found in Prisoner: Cell Block H. When she starts throwing the bottles about
behind the bar, she drops all the drinks before she getts the hang of it.
Her father disapproves but learns to love her career choice in the end and even joins in
(heaven help you when you see that scene). Before she leaves for town, she tells him to
ease up on the junk food and stick to a healty diet. He ignores her and ends up in hospital,
but for a different reason which I'll leave you to discover (ooh, the suspense!)
Jersey and Kevin fall out because she thinks he's cheating on her, but like in a soap
opera, the characters ALWAYS get the wrong end of the stick. He was just selling his flat
to another girl instead of taking her home for a bit of the "one, two, buckle my shoe".
As is the want of the newbie singer-songwriter, she gets stagefright when appearing at
other clubs - something she has to learn to overcome, but has no problem standing up to
sing on the bar at work. She also lets things get to her too easily and decides to move
home again, but is enticed back to the bar before the end credits roll.
What's happened to Jerry Bruckheimer? He normally makes blistering, fast
action-packed films, but Gone in 60 Seconds was disappointing in the main until
the final half-gour and this is just plain disappointing!
Overall, this is a film for women who can't see past the stereotypes and mistake those
cavorting about for strong-willed independent women. Oh, and it's for LeAnn Rimes
fans too as she pops up towards the end to join in the chaos. She sings her
No.1 single, "Can't Fight the Moonlight", although it sounds exactly
like Aqua's "Barbie Girl" !
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
