I was bought Coyote Ugly by my best friend for Christmas about 3 years ago and I absolutely love the film! I would probably classify this film as a 'chick flick' but my boyfriend and male friend's have watched this film and enjoyed it so don't let that put you off.

The Story
Violet Sanford (played by Piper Perabo) is a singer/songwriter and decides to move from small downtown Jersey to New York to try and get her work recognised. Not having much money, she has to rent a small run down apartment. She send out demon tapes of her music to hundreds of companies and they are all returned to her without even being opened.

One night, Violet is out having a few drinks when she runs into Kevin O'Donnell (played by Adam Garcia).
She is told by one of Kevin's friends that Kevin is the owner of the club there are in. You can see there is an attraction between Kevin and Violet (Kevin is gorgeous!!) and when they are leaving the club, Violet gives Kevin a demo tape, hoping that it will get her somewhere.

It soon becomes clear that Violet has been tricked, and that Kevin is infact a kitchen boy at the club and not the owner at all! Violet returns to the club he works at and demands her demo tape back - Kevin tries to flirt with Violet but she is still furious about being tricked. They begin to talk and she tells Kevin her dream of becoming a songwriter. He explains that the only way to get her songs noticed, is to sing them herself at an open mic night - Kevin knows the manager of the club that holds these nights and offers to help her. She then explains that she is unable to sing her own songs as she freezes when she gets on stage, she get the most terrible stage fright - something she believes she has inherited from her mother - who also had the same dream as her.

While Violet is waiting for her music to be noticed, she needs a job and is desperately looking for work. She hears of a job opening at a bar named 'Coyote Ugly' and decides to go and see the bar. She meets the manageress Lil (played by Maria Bello) and after a rather bizarre conversation, she tells Violet that she can come to work for her the following night to see how she likes it.

Violet arrives for work and it very shocked at the place. All the other girls are writhing around on the bar, being ogled by men and the crowd of (mainly) mean are very rowdy. As the viewer, you can see that Violet is not used to this sort of environment and she finds it difficult to fit it with the other girls behaviour.
Violet encounters lots of problems at the bar, she makes countless mistakes and nearly gets the bar shut down but she sticks at it, because she needs the money. One night, a huge fight breaks out in Coyote Ugly and Violet is the only one that can try and calm the bar down, she decides to climb on the bar and sing along to the Duke Box in a sexy manner to try and gain the attention of all the men that are fighting....

I don't really want to go any further with the story as I am worried that I will give too much of the story line away.

My Opinion
I really love this film. Although its probably considered to be a chick flick, it appeals to both males and females and has a great storyline that keeps you guessing the whole way through. Violet makes so many mistakes at the bar and finds it so hard to fit in, that you never know how long she is going to stick it out for as she just runs into more and more problems the harder she tries.

She wants to become a singer/songwriter and the only way to do that is to sing her songs herself, but she is unable to do that because of her crippling stage fright. The viewer is left guessing whether Violet is ever going to get her dream, or whether she will overcome her stage fright or just be in the right place at the right time and get herself noticed enough to have a famous artist singer her songs for her - or will she sing them herself?

Then, to finish off the story nicely, you have Violet's relationship with Kevin. You can see the attraction between them and you are never sure what is going to happen as they are both quite closed with their feelings and never give too much away so you are left wondering exactly how much they like each other. Kevin always asks lots of questions about Violet but is not keen on answering any questions she asks... is he hiding a secret?

Music
Coyote Ugly has lots of music included in the films. Violet obviously writes her own songs and there are a couple of tracks that most people will be familiar with - for example Leanne Rimes - Can't Fight The Moonlight. There are also lots of songs played in the Coyote Bar such as INEXS - Need You Tonight and Blondie - One Way Or Another. These songs really do add that little extra something special to the film. There is actually a Coyote Ugly soundtrack CD available featuring all the songs from the film.

The Director's Cut Version
To be honest, this version is not too different from the original film although you do get to see a few extra scenes which are not included in the original. Kevin and Violet have an intimate scene in the film and in the Director's Cut - you get to see a little bit more flesh than you do in the original (put it this way, my boyfriend enjoyed this bit!!) There are also a few other scenes that are not in the original such as Violet opening her heart about her Mum who died and we actually see a photo of her Mum in the Director's Cut. I don't really think there is any need for this version as the original film was perfect as it is, but for any die hard fans of this film, then I would recommend it.

Price
This DVD costs around £12 in stores such as HMV but you can get them so much cheaper on amazon or play - for around £4 for this version.

Summary
This is a great feel good film. The story is not too obvious and you are left guessing certain parts of the film the whole way through which really keeps your attention. To add to this, there is an excellent soundtrack to accompany the film! Anyone who hasn't already watched it, definitely should!