As much a chick flick as Fried Green Tomatoes . . . but it's also pure male fantasy.
More shocking than this tame movie is that Bruckheimer would produce both "Flashdance" and this 2000 equivalent of "Charlie's Angels,"--a kind of clean sexuality that's no more revealing than a trip to your local Hooters. Which is to say that it's not shocking for "Coyote Ugly" to come to home video via the Disney folks under the Touchstone label. Yes, parts of it are sexy. But a great many parts are also funny, and I don't think intentionally so. If, however, he or she insists on watching this, there's something for the opposite sex to make the evening not a complete waste of time. There's just not enough of it.
And by the way-Lil tells us that the term Coyote Ugly refers to a morning after when you awake next to someone SO ugly who's lying on top of your arm that you'd rather chew off that arm and slink away like a coyote than face that person. Well, there isn't a speck of ugly in this film. Just Coyote.
Video:
I will say, though, that the picture looks very good in 1080p, transferred to a 50-gig disc using AVC/MPEG-4 codec and presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Colors are bright but not overly saturated, and night scenes or low-lit corners of the bar really reveal as much detail as the well-lit portions. There isn't quite that sense of pleasing 3-dimensionality that comes with the best Blu-rays, but there are times (those dance scenes especially) when things do seem to pop out more. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking.
Audio:
Given all the music and the rowdiness, I can't say that the English 5.1 PCM uncompressed (48kHz/16-bit) soundtrack blew me away, but maybe that's because I didn't feel the rear effects speakers getting as involved as they might, or because the sound didn't fill the room with a dynamism that I expected. Don't get me wrong, it's still a decent soundtrack--nice balance between treble/bass and dialogue/music--but it's more solid than it is spectacular.
Extras:
Come on, people, why no extended feature on the REAL Coyote Ugly and the real Lil? That's a major disappointment. What we get are two commentaries that are below average and five brief bonus features, some so brief that it's a stretch to call them anything but "extras." Given the film's energy, the commentary on the theatrical release with Perabo, Bello, Banks, Moynahan, and Miko is full of chatter, but it's all pretty low-key. You also won't learn a lot about the film from these young women, who mostly reminisce about their involvement and toss off a few anecdotes. In a way, it's about as deep as the film itself. Director David McNally also lurks in the wings, as does Bruckheimer, but they don't do much to fill in the blanks. The other commentary is by Bruckheimer and McNally, who chat a little about technical details but mostly seem to be justifying making the movie at all, responding to all those charges of male fantasy with a near evangelical argument that it's really all about girl power, or something to that effect. As I said, I found both commentaries disappointing.
Same with "Coyote 101," which could have been a much better (and longer) feature than it is. Rather than have us see how the actresses learned how to flip bottles or memorize the choreography, I'd rather have seen what training the real Coyotes go through. Then again, how much can you see when this feature and others are under 10 minutes, with one of them barely a minute. Come on, Blu-ray designers. Either make these features longer, cobble them all together, or work on the technology so it doesn't take so darned long to load something every time you select and press "enter."
The only other extras are a very short piece on the casting of "Coyote Ugly," a brief piece on the music (which shows how Rimes and songwriter Diane Warren worked together), just six minutes worth of deleted scenes (none of which are anything to get excited about) and a worthless "montage" that's over almost before you can set down the remote.
Bottom Line:
In a way, the concept is pure genius. I haven't seen people try to have it both ways in too many films. On the one hand, given the soft focus on romance and making it (as a musician, not in bed!) and given the circle of gal-pals, "Coyote Ugly" is as much a chick flick as "Fried Green Tomatoes." But with all that eye-candy, gyrating, and wet t-shirts, it's also pure male fantasy. Does that make this the ultimate date movie? Well, it's not as bad as it could have been, but when you add up all the clichés and the sweet, no-worries-to-speak-of plot, it comes out to be a pretty hefty price to pay for an evening of cinema.
And by the way-Lil tells us that the term Coyote Ugly refers to a morning after when you awake next to someone SO ugly who's lying on top of your arm that you'd rather chew off that arm and slink away like a coyote than face that person. Well, there isn't a speck of ugly in this film. Just Coyote.
Video:
I will say, though, that the picture looks very good in 1080p, transferred to a 50-gig disc using AVC/MPEG-4 codec and presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Colors are bright but not overly saturated, and night scenes or low-lit corners of the bar really reveal as much detail as the well-lit portions. There isn't quite that sense of pleasing 3-dimensionality that comes with the best Blu-rays, but there are times (those dance scenes especially) when things do seem to pop out more. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking.
Audio:
Given all the music and the rowdiness, I can't say that the English 5.1 PCM uncompressed (48kHz/16-bit) soundtrack blew me away, but maybe that's because I didn't feel the rear effects speakers getting as involved as they might, or because the sound didn't fill the room with a dynamism that I expected. Don't get me wrong, it's still a decent soundtrack--nice balance between treble/bass and dialogue/music--but it's more solid than it is spectacular.
Extras:
Come on, people, why no extended feature on the REAL Coyote Ugly and the real Lil? That's a major disappointment. What we get are two commentaries that are below average and five brief bonus features, some so brief that it's a stretch to call them anything but "extras." Given the film's energy, the commentary on the theatrical release with Perabo, Bello, Banks, Moynahan, and Miko is full of chatter, but it's all pretty low-key. You also won't learn a lot about the film from these young women, who mostly reminisce about their involvement and toss off a few anecdotes. In a way, it's about as deep as the film itself. Director David McNally also lurks in the wings, as does Bruckheimer, but they don't do much to fill in the blanks. The other commentary is by Bruckheimer and McNally, who chat a little about technical details but mostly seem to be justifying making the movie at all, responding to all those charges of male fantasy with a near evangelical argument that it's really all about girl power, or something to that effect. As I said, I found both commentaries disappointing.
Same with "Coyote 101," which could have been a much better (and longer) feature than it is. Rather than have us see how the actresses learned how to flip bottles or memorize the choreography, I'd rather have seen what training the real Coyotes go through. Then again, how much can you see when this feature and others are under 10 minutes, with one of them barely a minute. Come on, Blu-ray designers. Either make these features longer, cobble them all together, or work on the technology so it doesn't take so darned long to load something every time you select and press "enter."
The only other extras are a very short piece on the casting of "Coyote Ugly," a brief piece on the music (which shows how Rimes and songwriter Diane Warren worked together), just six minutes worth of deleted scenes (none of which are anything to get excited about) and a worthless "montage" that's over almost before you can set down the remote.
Bottom Line:
In a way, the concept is pure genius. I haven't seen people try to have it both ways in too many films. On the one hand, given the soft focus on romance and making it (as a musician, not in bed!) and given the circle of gal-pals, "Coyote Ugly" is as much a chick flick as "Fried Green Tomatoes." But with all that eye-candy, gyrating, and wet t-shirts, it's also pure male fantasy. Does that make this the ultimate date movie? Well, it's not as bad as it could have been, but when you add up all the clichés and the sweet, no-worries-to-speak-of plot, it comes out to be a pretty hefty price to pay for an evening of cinema.
![Lost [TV Series]](/images/displaymedia.php?id=23770&sizew=70&cat=3)
Average user rating (1-5):
Not yet rated.
Not yet rated.
[release]23272[/release]