Coyote Ugly (film)

Coyote Ugly
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David McNally
Produced by	Jerry Bruckheimer Chad Oman
Written by	Gina Wendkos
Starring	Piper Perabo Adam Garcia Maria Bello Melanie Lynskey Tyra Banks John Goodman
Music by	Trevor Horn
Cinematography	Amir M. Mokri
Editing by	William Goldenberg
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)	August 4, 2000
Running time	100 minutes 107 minutes (Director's Cut)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$45,000,000
Box office	$113,916,474

Coyote Ugly is a 2000 romantic comedy/drama based on the actual Coyote Ugly Saloon, set in New York City. 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 of South Amboy, New Jersey, her father Bill (John Goodman), and best friend Gloria (Melanie Lynskey) to pursue her dreams in nearby 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 employees in South Amboy that left town hoping to make it big.

Violet tries unsuccessfully, dozens of times, to get her demo tape noticed by the recording studios. With only a few dollars left in her pocket after her apartment is robbed, she goes to an all-night diner and notices three girls - Cammie (Izabella Miko), Rachel (Bridget Moynahan) and Zoe (Tyra Banks) 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 and the average patron "has a toddler in their pants" - she says the kids will love her. She is reluctantly nicknamed "Jersey". 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 (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. One night when she's doing a rowdy move while having water poured on her, Violet's picture is taken, which appears in the paper. Violet's dad sees it and gets angry at her. Then Bill gets in a massive car accident.

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.

Back at Coyote Ugly after she sings with LeAnn Rimes the song she wrote for her while Bill watches with pride.

Cast

• Piper Perabo as Violet Sanford
• Adam Garcia as Kevin O'Donnell
• John Goodman as William Sanford
• Maria Bello as Lil
• Tyra Banks as Zoe
• Izabella Miko as Cammie
• Bridget Moynahan as Rachel
• Melanie Lynskey as Gloria
• Michael Weston as Danny
• Melody Perkins as New Coyote
• Johnny Knoxville as College Guy
• Alex Borstein as bidding auction woman (uncredited)
• LeAnn Rimes as Singing Voice of Violet (uncredited)^[1] / Herself

• The film has a performance by the band The Calling.
• Susan Yeagley as bidding auction woman (uncredited)
• The band playing at the end of the film is Chalk FarM.
• Michael Bay makes a cameo as a photographer.
• Kaitlin Olson as bidding auction woman.

Title

The film 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.^{[citation needed]}

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, scarcely 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,^[4][5] who saw it as little more than an excuse to portray "hot, sexy women dancing on a bar in a wet T-shirt contest."^[6] Even askmen.com admitted that while "incredibly attractive" women "flaunt that fact" in the film, "that's all there is". AskMen.com's audience rates the film 88/100, however.^[7]

Unrated edition

In the summer of 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.)

Box office

The film opened at #4 at the North American box office making US$17.3 million in its opening weekend behind Space Cowboys, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and Hollow Man.

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^[8] of its release on August 1, 2000^[9] and platinum status on November 7, 2000.^[8] On Aril 18, 2001 the soundtrack was certified 2x Platinum and and on January 9, 2002 it was certified 3x Platinum. The soundtrack was certified 4x Platinum on July 22, 2008^[8] and was certified 5x Platinum (500,000 units) in Canada in 2002.^[10] Three singles were released from the soundtrack, all three by LeAnn Rimes, "Can't Fight the Moonlight" which achieved gold status, became a nearly instant hit on the radio charts and peaked at #11 on The Billboard Hot 100^[11], "But I Do Love You" and "The Right Kind of Wrong".^[12]

A second soundtrack, More Music from Coyote Ugly, with more songs that appeared in the film and remixes of two of Rimes' songs, followed on January 28 2003.^[13]

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.^[1]

Coyote Ugly soundtrack

Coyote Ugly
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	August 1, 2000
Genre	Pop
Label	Curb Records
Producer	Jerry Bruckheimer, Kathy Nelson, Mike Curb, Trevor Horn, Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar, Greg Ladayi, Ralph Jezzard, Snap!, John Boylan, Micheal Lloyd, Don Cook, Chris Waters, Brad Gilderman, Harvey Mason, Jr.
Singles from Coyote Ugly
"Can't Fight the Moonlight" Released: August 22, 2000 (2000-08-22) "The Right Kind of Wrong" Released: 2001 (2001)[12] "But I Do Love You" Released: 2002 (2002)

No.	Title	Recording artist(s)	Length
1.	"Can't Fight the Moonlight"	LeAnn Rimes	3:35
2.	"Please Remember"	LeAnn Rimes	4:34
3.	"The Right Kind Of Wrong"	LeAnn Rimes	3:47
4.	"But I Do Love You"	LeAnn Rimes	3:21
5.	"All She Wants To Do Is Dance"	Don Henley	4:30
6.	"Unbelievable"	EMF	3:30
7.	"The Power"	Snap!	3:40
8.	"Need You Tonight"	INXS	3:10
9.	"The Devil Went Down to Georgia"	The Charlie Daniels Band	3:36
10.	"Boom Boom Boom"	Rare Blend	3:22
11.	"Didn't We Love"	Tamara Walker	3:24
12.	"We Can Get There" (TP2K Hot Radio Mix)	Mary Griffin	3:59

Chart performance

Chart (2000/01)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart[14]	1
Austrian Albums Chart[14]	2
Belgian (Flanders) Albums Chart[14]	7
Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart[14]	43
Canadian RPM Country Albums	1
Canadian Albums Chart	4
Danish Albums Chart[14]	6
Dutch Albums Chart[14]	60
Finnish Albums Chart[14]	9
French Albums Chart[14]	117
Norwegian Albums Chart[14]	3
Spanish Albums Chart[14]	47
Swedish Albums Chart[14]	29
Swiss Albums Chart[14]	9
US Billboard 200	9
US Billboard Top Country Albums	1
US Billboard Soundtracks	3

Preceded by 1 by The Beatles	Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album January 22 – March 4, 2001	Succeeded by The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem
Preceded by Burn by Jo Dee Messina	Top Country Albums number-one album August 26 – October 6, 2000	Succeeded by George Strait by George Strait
Preceded by Greatest Hits by Tim McGraw	Top Country Albums number-one album February 10–16, 2001	Succeeded by I Need You by LeAnn Rimes
Preceded by O Brother, Where Art Thou? by Various Artists	Top Country Albums number-one album April 28 – May 4, 2001	Succeeded by Steers & Stripes by Brooks & Dunn
Preceded by Breathe by Faith Hill	RPM Country Albums number-one album September 11 – November 12, 2000	Succeeded by none

More Music from Coyote Ugly

More Music from Coyote Ugly
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	January 28 2003
Genre	Pop
Label	Curb Records
Producer	Jerry Bruckheimer, Kathy Nelson, Mike Curb, Trevor Horn, Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar, Greg Ladayi, Ralph Jezzard, Snap!, John Boylan, Micheal Lloyd, Don Cook, Chris Waters, Brad Gilderman, Harvey Mason, Jr.

No.	Title	Recording artist(s)	Length
1.	"One Way or Another"	Blondie
2.	"Rebel Yell"	Billy Idol
3.	"Rock This Town"	Stray Cats
4.	"Keep Your Hands to Yourself"	The Georgia Satellites
5.	"Out Of My Head"	Fastball
6.	"Battle Flag" (Lo-Fidelity Allstars Remix)	Pigeonhed
7.	"It Takes Two"	Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock
8.	"Love Machine"	The Miracles
9.	"We Can Get There" (Almighty Radio Edit)	Mary Griffin

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Recording artist(s)	Length
10.	"Can't Fight the Moonlight" (Graham Stack Radio Edit)	LeAnn Rimes	3:30
11.	"But I Do Love You" (Almighty Radio Edit)	LeAnn Rimes	4:02

Other songs in the film

The following songs appear in the movie, but on neither of the two soundtracks that were released.

• "Fly" by Sugar Ray
• "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor
• "That's Me" by Tara MacLean
• "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling
• "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard
• "Fly Away" by Lenny Kravitz
• "Beer 30" by Reverend Horton Heat
• "Follow Me" by Uncle Kracker
• "Cruisin' for a Bruisin'" by Nurse With Wound
• "Never Let You Go" by Third Eye Blind
• "Love Is Alive" by Anastacia
• "Cowboy" by Kid Rock
• "Tony Adams" by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
• "Cailin" by Unwritten Law
• "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Elvis Presley
• "Like Water" by Chalk Farm
• "I Love Rock N Roll" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Lee, Michael J. (2007-03-22). "Radio Free Entertainment Exclusive Interview: Piper Perabo". RadioFree.com. http://www.radiofree.com/profiles/piper_perabo/interview03.shtml. 
2. ^ "Kevin on his involvement in 'Coyote Ugly'". The View Askewniverse. http://www.viewaskew.com/news/aug00/1.html. Retrieved October 7, 2005. 
3. ^ "Simpson Was Scared Of Failure". contactmusic.com. http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/simpson%20was%20scared%20of%20failure. Retrieved October 7, 2005. 
4. ^ Rotten Tomatoes
5. ^ MetaCritic
6. ^ 7M Pictures Review
7. ^ askmen.com
8. ^ ^{a b c} "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database. Retrieved 2011-10-04. 
9. ^ "Coyote Ugly (2000 Film): Various Artists - Soundtrack: Music". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Coyote-Ugly-Various-Artists-Soundtrack/dp/B00004W1OR/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1317144805&sr=1-3. Retrieved 2011-09-27. 
10. ^ "Gold & Platinum Certification – October 2002". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.cria.ca/gold/1002_g.php. Retrieved 2010-08-20. 
11. ^ "LeAnn Rimes: Artist Chart History". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=155119&model.vnuAlbumId=658259. Retrieved January 12, 2006. 
12. ^ ^{a b} "iTunes - Music - Right Kind of Wrong - Remixes - Single by LeAnn Rimes". Itunes.apple.com. 1982-08-28. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/right-kind-wrong-remixes-single/id80604817. Retrieved 2011-10-09. 
13. ^ "More Music From Coyote Ugly: Various Artists: Music". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/More-Music-Coyote-Various-Artists/dp/B000083MCT/ref=pd_sim_m1. Retrieved 2011-09-27. 
14. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} "australian-charts.com - Coyote Ugly Soundtrack". australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Soundtrack&titel=Coyote+Ugly&cat=a. Retrieved 2 October 2011. 

External links

• Coyote Ugly at the Internet Movie Database
• Coyote Ugly at AllRovi
• Coyote Ugly at Metacritic
• Coyote Ugly at Rotten Tomatoes
• (German) Comparison of the theatrical release and the Unrated Edition, with screenshots