Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Coyote Ugly Blu-ray Movie Review

A bland, tired film proves to be less-than-intoxicating on Blu-ray.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 8, 2008

I just want to be a songwriter.

It's pretty common knowledge that movies these days are made to maximize profit, oftentimes at the expense of a good story. Branding is important (seems like Apple computers show up in just about every movie anymore) as are toy lines (Transformers), soundtracks (High School Musical 2), and even Happy Meals, if the movie is geared more towards a younger audience. I wouldn't necessarily claim Coyote Ugly to be a movie made solely to market its soundtrack, but the catchy LeAnn Rimes smash hit to come out of it sure does help obscure the fact that this movie is fairly vacuous, short on plot, highly predictable, and really not worth watching more than once. The soundtrack went Platinum, and "Can't Fight the Moonlight" found its way into radio rotations everywhere. Nevertheless, it is also arguable that the film has had quite the impact on society. "Coyote" is now part of the American lexicon, and not just when discussing the four-legged animal. The movie has even generated a reality television spin-off entitled The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search.

Listen everybody! When you go home and sober up, check out the review section on Blu-ray.com!

Aspiring songwriter and small-town New Jersey girl Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo, The Prestige) decides to move to New York, against the will of her father, Bill (John Goodman, The Big Lebowski), to chase her dreams and make it big, hoping one day to hear Mariah or Whitney singing one of her songs on the radio. Living in a run-down apartment with neighbors who don't want to hear her playing her keyboard, she becomes desperate for work and eventually catches on at a bar called "Coyote Ugly," a place where the servers dance on the bar, light it on fire, and spray water into the crowd. Meanwhile, Violet meets Kevin (Adam Garcia, Riding in Cars With Boys), a charming young man whose love seemingly lifts Violet from the depths of despair and helps her overcome a bad case of stage fright, becoming her beacon of hope and passion in her darkest, scariest hours. Does Violet have a hit song inside of her, or will she be forever destined to dance on top of a bar and sing along with the jukebox? The all-star cast of Coyotes also includes Tyra Banks (Halloween: Resurrection), Bridget Moynahan, (I, Robot), Izabella Miko (The House of Usher), and Maria Bello (The Jane Austen Book Club).

Coyote Ugly is a movie tailor-made to appeal to both sexes. There is the romance angle for the women in the audience, and the scantily-clad girls dancing atop the bar for the guys. Neither angle is particularly interesting, the movie a hodgepodge of each one, the love story all too easy, sappy, and unoriginal; the dancing scenes, the movie's bread and butter, repetitious and now clichéd. The movie did seem fresher and more enjoyable upon its initial release years ago, but it's definitely lost quite a bit of its flair, this extended cut of the film available on Blu-ray offering up only a few "mature" moments not seen in the original cut. If there is a message to be found in Coyote Ugly, it's the tried, tired, and true "follow your dreams" theme, presented no different here than it has been countless times before, somewhat similar yet much edgier in tone to Save the Last Dance, Dirty Dancing, August Rush and Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken. The best thing about Coyote Ugly is easily the presence of John Goodman. The veteran actor steals every scene he's in, playing the role of the overprotective, good-hearted father who becomes his daughter's biggest fan role superbly, showing yet again why he is one of the best and perhaps most underrated actors in recent memory.

Coyote Ugly Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Frankly, this 1080p, 2.40:1 transfer is not one of the better ones available from Disney. Although the film is of somewhat recent vintage (around eight years old), the source doesn't appear to be in the best of shape, and the transfer is oftentimes problematic. Oft visible, somewhat distracting, and painfully obvious white and black speckles mar the image, some larger than others, all too numerous for a film of this moderate age. The other persistent problem is noise and heavy grain fields, noted on backdrops of a near-single, bright shaded color. Outdoor scenes contrasted with a bright blue sky look grainer and noisier than others, especially in a sequence as Violet leaves home early in the movie, as do various bright, solid colored items seen behind the bar. Some softness appears throughout the image. These issues certainly don't make the movie unwatchable, and it looks rather good in many places, retaining a pleasing, theatrical quality look and feel. The overall image quality is mostly fine, but don't expect to be completely wowed by this particular high-definition experience. Black levels are above average, but darker scenes seems a bit obscured and detail lost. Colors in such scenes are drab and the disc lacks definition and clarity at times, though for the majority of the movie, colors appear natural and vivid. Flesh tones were likewise hit-or-miss. Frankly, much better than this was expected, and this is perhaps the least impressive transfer yet from Disney, a studio known for quality Blu-ray images.

Coyote Ugly Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unlike the video quality, the PCM 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack on this disc is phenomenal. Without a doubt, the movie's bread and butter is its soundtrack, and it never fails to impress. An excellent presentation in this area is perhaps even more crucial than the video quality, and once again Disney has delivered the goods, a sound mix that's blaring yet pleasant, forceful yet fun, and bassy-y but clear, all these elements recreating the bar atmosphere that is integral to the film, making the viewer feel like a patron amongst the rambunctious crowd. The soundtrack is saturated with popular music, and none of these songs have ever sounded better at home. The music emanates from all around the listening area, creating an immersive and captivating experience that is only surpassed by real life. Bass really thumps in many scenes, as it should and as the viewer should expect it to in a movie like this, especially in scenes that feature music with heavy, deep beats. There is some very nice ambience to be heard every now and then. The seemingly ever-present New York City siren is in the background in many scenes where Violet is out on the rooftop writing music. Be it that or, say, the noise of a subway car, there is always activity in the rear channels. Dialogue reproduction is excellent, generally clear and discernible, even over bar scenes featuring loud, ear-splitting music (although the music is often reduced in volume so we can hear the more important lines). Overall, this is an awesome soundtrack, one that kept me engaged and entertained enough from a sonic standpoint, perhaps the only thing that got me through the entirety of the movie in one piece.

Coyote Ugly Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This "Double-shot" edition of Coyote Ugly comes to Blu-ray with an average amount of supplements that don't contribute much to the overall presentation of the film. There are two version of the film available on this disc, the 101 minute theatrical cut as well as the 107 minute extended cut of the film. On the theatrical cut there is to be found a cast commentary with Tyra Banks, Maria Bello, Izabella Miko, Bridget Moynahan, and Piper Perabo. This track is very light hearted and easy going, the cast offering up anecdotes about their experience on-set, their personal histories, how a hurricane coming through New York City affected filming during several scenes, flooding locations, and general thoughts on various aspects of the film. Anything but technical, the track is mostly fluff and the cast having fun reminiscing about the movie, although the track seems somewhat disjointed--the participants don't really talk over one another, but the subject is often changed on a dime and discussions sometimes never finished. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director David McNally also have something to say on occasion, and the studio has been kind enough to offer viewers the opportunity to jump to only those scenes where these participants discuss the film. The extended cut also offers up a track, the same one as far as the girls are concerned, but with Bruckheimer and McNally also chiming in now and again, recorded separately from the Coyotes.

Next up are five additional scenes (480p, 7:02) not found in either cut of the film and a LeAnn Rimes' music video for "Can't Fight the Moonlight" (480p, 3:51). Search For the Stars (480p, 10:54) looks at cast members Piper Perabo (and her "big break" in this movie), the other Coyotes, and Kevin O'Donnell. A fluff piece to be sure, it mostly features Bruckheimer, McNally, and the cast patting one another one the back. Inside the Songs (480p, 3:37) is a short piece looking at the contributions of songwriter Dianne Warren and performer LeAnn Rimes for the movie. Coyote 101 (480p, 6:43) proves to be the most interesting feature on the disc, a look at the training the girls underwent to learn to tend bar and dance. Action Overload (480p, 1:11) is a montage of some of the "hottest" scenes from the film. The film's theatrical trailer (480p, 2:21) concludes this set of extra material.

Coyote Ugly Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Coyote Ugly is a movie that has become part of American lexicon and lore, a film that offers-up vicarious escapism and little else, save for the music. The movie has its moments, but the simple plot is overshadowed by dancing girls on a bar. The movie does succeed at doing what it wants to do, namely play as a love story for the girls and a semi-exotic, voyeuristic show for the guys. It all adds up to a bland, tired, overhyped, overplayed movie, one that is worth watching once and forgetting about after. This Blu-ray disc sports adequate picture quality, though substandard compared to the majority of Disney titles available on the format. The audio quality was quite impressive, however, creating excellent atmosphere and putting the viewer in the middle of the action, though not quite as good as the best I have heard on the format. The extra materials are there, not doing much more than taking up space. I'd recommend Coyote Ugly only to fans of the film who want to experience the excellent soundtrack for the first time in an uncompressed format.