the review site with a difference since 1999
Reviews Interviews Articles Apps About

Touchstone Home Video presents

Coyote Ugly: Unrated Special Edition (2000)

"Is this a church meeting or is this a bar? Make some noise!"- Zoe (Tyra Banks)

Stars: Piper Perabo, Adam Garcia, Maria Bello
Other Stars: Melanie Lynskey, John Goodman
Director: David McNally

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (adult language, nudity)
Run Time: 01h:47m:24s
Release Date: 2005-06-07
Genre: drama

Style
Grade
Substance
Grade
Image Transfer
Grade
Audio Transfer
Grade
Extras
Grade
C+ C-AA B-

 

DVD Review

Those of you who have ever visited the upper level of the New York New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas have surely seen one of the most unique bars in the city, Coyote Ugly. The bar doesn't stop at serving beer and various liquors. Let's just say it has an added benefit in that the female bartenders wear tight Western outfits and dance on top of the bar.

This latest theme-joint is a product of the 2000 film, Coyote Ugly. While not a huge success at the box office, the film found a much wider audience and small cult following once it was released on home video and pay television. It must have reached enough of an audience to prompt the opening of the bar in Vegas, but, then again, there seems to be a theme-joint for just about everything these days.

This is the story of Violet (Piper Perabo), a New Jersey waitress who has quit her job and is moving to New York to pursue a songwriting career. After struggling to find even any job, Violet winds up as a waitress at the Coyote Ugly, a bar whose "featured" bartenders are always putting on a show, aggressively dancing on top of the bar, and drawing huge crowds nightly.

Soon, Violet becomes one of the Coyotes herself, treating the male patrons like dirt (for show) and spraying them with water and other beverages. Of course, these men know what they're getting themselves into before they walk into the place, and they don't exactly complain about the way they are treated.

Violet eventually meets a young man from Australia named Kevin (Adam Garcia) who works as a cook. He seems to be the only one who believes in Violet's musical talent, at least until her boss at the club hears what she can do. Soon, the sky is the limit for the newest of the Coyotes.

This unrated, director's cut of the film runs about seven minutes longer than the theatrical version. Most of the inserted footage is in the form of extended sequences, but there is one notable and valuable scene involving a steamy sexual encounter (including nudity) between Violet and Kevin.

Overall, this story just doesn't quite work. The actor's aren't to blame, especially Piper Perabo, who does a nice job channeling her natural charm into Violet, and Maria Bello is quite good as well. It's the by-the-books script that winds up being just plain boring. If you can't figure out how things are going to work out for Violet, then you've basically never seen a "small town girl makes it big" flick before. That predictability makes it difficult to stay with Coyote Ugly the whole way.

Rating for Style: C+
Rating for Substance: C-

 

Image Transfer

 One
Aspect Ratio2.40:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratioyes
Anamorphicyes


Image Transfer Review: The video is a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation that seems to be the same (except for the added scenes) as on the earlier DVD release. Fortunately, that presentation was excellent, with this one never missing a beat. Incredibly detailed images, especially the Coyotes during their dance numbers, are a constant, with each and every nuance of the Coyote Ugly showing up plain as day. There's a bit of grain during the opening credits sequence, but the rest of the transfer is flawless.

Image Transfer Grade: A
 

Audio Transfer

 LanguageRemote Access
Dolby Digital
5.1
English, Frenchyes
DTSEnglishyes


Audio Transfer Review: A new addition in the audio department is a DTS track, which is very similar to the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that's also available. The slight edge goes to the DTS, since it captures each and every ambient sound in the bar scenes. Music plays an integral part in Coyote Ugly, with both tracks broadcasting each song across the entire soundfield, with nice and tight, aggressive bass lending a helping hand in the process. Dialogue is impressive as well, blending in flawlessly into the rest of the mix.

Audio Transfer Grade:

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 20 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, French, Spanish with remote access
1 Original Trailer(s)
3 Other Trailer(s) featuring The Pacifier, Home Improvement: The Complete Second Season, Scrubs: The Complete First Season
5 Deleted Scenes
4 Featurette(s)
1 Feature/Episode commentary by Director David McNally, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the Coyotes: Tyra Banks, Maria Bello, Izabella Miko, Bridget Moynahan, Piper Perabo
Packaging: Keep Case
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:
  1. LeAnn Rimes Music Video: For the song, "Can't Fight the Moonlight"
Extras Review: A healthy number of bonus features are along for the ride, beginning with a commentary track with director David McNally, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and the actresses that portrayed the Coyotes: Piper Perabo, Maria Bello, Tyra Banks, Izabella Miko, and Bridget Moynahan. The girls do most of the talking, with Perabo being especially spunky and excited about the film. McNally and Bruckheimer also chime in about compiling the cast and selecting the music.

Search for the Stars focuses on three different aspects: Coyotes, Violet, and Mr. O'Donnell. This piece runs for just about 10 minutes, and features interviews with the cast and crew, during which they talk about the casting process.

Coyote 101 is all about the central location of the film, the Coyote Ugly. In about six minutes, we hear about the look of the bar and the preparation that went into teaching the actresses their dance moves.

Inside the Songs is a three-minute piece that is all about the music in the film, both old and new. An interview with LeAnn Rimes is included here.

There's also a LeAnn Rimes Music Video for the song Can't Fight the Moonlight as well as the film's theatrical trailer. "Sneak Peeks" for other Touchstone Home Video releases are also on board.

Action Overload is a throwaway segment that runs for just over a minute, and is a high-octane collection of the most intense footage from the film.

Last but not least of the extras are the five additional scenes. I guess if scenes are left out of even the director's cut of the film then they really weren't meant to be included, but these clips do feature some interesting information, like Maria Bello discussing why she opened the Coyote Ugly.

Extras Grade: B-
 

Final Comments

If you're looking for passable fare to have on while doing something around the house, then Coyote Ugly is the film for you. Kudos to Touchstone Home Video for putting the director's cut of the film at its fans' fingertips. Excellent audio (including a DTS track) and video, and some nice extras make this the only DVD of this movie that you'll ever need.

Chuck Aliaga 2005-06-06