Review of Coyote Ugly

Movie #51 - Coyote Ugly

Coyote Ugly is a movie about a girl named Violet who has big aspirations to become a songwriter in New York City. She moves from Jersey to Manhattan to pursue her dream. Like everyone who moves to NYC, she soon learns that it's not all big city, big dreams at all. Within the first week she's there, she gets turned down by every record company in the city, is duped by a guy pretending to be a record producer, and has her apartment broken into. She's about to give up hope when she runs into three girls having fun in a diner, talking about how much money they made that night at their job. Violet's intrigued, so she inquires about a job at a local bar called Coyote Ugly. She is hired, and begins her rocky road of a journey to stardom. She's knocked down, but she picks her self up again and makes her dream come true. With the help of her new found boyfriend, Kevin, she gets over her stage fright, performs her song on stage, and lands a record deal with Leann Rimes. It is a long, hard path for Violet, but she proves that, with hard work, any dream can be accomplished.

When this movie was released in 2000, I was 16 years old. God I loved this movie. I'm not exactly sure how many times I watched it, but once I started re-watching it this time, the entire plot came flowing back to me. I'm pretty sure that Adam Garcia, who plays Kevin O'Donnell, was a major crush of mine in the early 2000s because of this film. Adam Garcia in the year 2013? Um, not so much. BUT I will say that I can see the potential for me to still crush on him because 1) He played Fiyero in the musical Wicked...geeking out right now. AND 2) He is still performing in musicals and on Broadway. Okay, I'm in love already. Who cares if he's aging a little less than perfectly. Put a man on Broadway, and I'm sold.

Now let me address the lady playing opposite Adam Garcia in the movie, Piper Perabo. How in the world does she keep getting roles? She was terrible in this film. She overacts her lines BIG TIME. It reminds me of Emma Watson in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: she articulates every word, and it comes off as not knowing how to act. Major difference between Emma and Piper? Emma was a child when this happened, and she has blossomed into a phenomenal talent....Piper was 24 years old in Coyote Ugly, and there is no excuse for bad acting at that point. I think I would enjoy this movie more if they would've cast a better female lead.

And oh, Leann Rimes. This movie came out before that chick went crazy in the head. I was a big Leann Rimes fan in the late 90s-early 00s. What happened, Leann? Fame get the best of you? Obviously. You're a train-wreck now! So sad.

Overall, I give Coyote Ugly 3.5 out of 5 stars.