Coyote Ugly (2000)
- Director: David McNally
- This was his feature film debut. Before this, he directed commercials, including Budweiser ads. He would go on to direct Kangaroo Jack—another film often used in war crimes tribunals against taste.
- Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
- Yes, that Jerry Bruckheimer. Coming off of Armageddon and Con Air, this was his attempt at cornering the date-night crowd. You can practically smell the high-gloss sheen and test screenings.
- Cinematographer: Amir Mokri
- Known for stylized, glossy work on Fast & Furious, Man of Steel, and Lord of War. His touch here makes even spilled beer and bar-top dancing look like perfume commercials.
- Editor: William Goldenberg (Heat, Argo, Zero Dark Thirty)—yes, seriously. Academy Award-winning talent was used to cut together a film about dancing bartenders.
Cast
- Piper Perabo as Violet Sanford
- Breakout role. This led to her starring in The Prestige and later TV’s Covert Affairs. She lip-syncs in the film—LeAnn Rimes provides her singing voice.
- Maria Bello, Tyra Banks, Bridget Moynahan, and Izabella Miko (AKA The eyecandy)
- All would go on to varying levels of fame. Bello especially had a serious career post-Coyote Ugly, in A History of Violence and The Cooler.
- Adam Garcia as the love interest
- Australian actor and dancer. He also played the title role in Bootmen, a tap-dancing movie that came out the same year, and was a judge on Dancing with the Stars Australia.
Soundtrack
- The soundtrack, heavily fronted by LeAnn Rimes, was a major commercial success, and arguably the real reason this movie was made.
- Chart Performance:
- Peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200.
- Sold over 4 million copies in the U.S. alone.
- Songs like “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” (written by Diane Warren) became massive global hits.
- Fun Fact: Rimes appears in the final scene performing in person and dubbing Piper Perabo’s vocals throughout the movie.
- Bruckheimer very much wanted a movie that could double as a hit soundtrack—something he had done successfully with Top Gun and Days of Thunder.
Critical Reception
- Rotten Tomatoes: ~23%
- Critics savaged it for its paper-thin plot, aggressive commercialism, and objectification of its cast.
- Audience reception was more forgiving—especially on home video, where it developed a weirdly loyal fanbase. Possibly because it played like a 100-minute music video with barroom cleavage and empowerment slogans.
The Pop-Country Boom
Coyote Ugly hit right when country music was enjoying a crossover bonanza. A few key artists and trends to mention:
- Shania Twain’s Come On Over (1997) had massive crossover appeal, fusing country twang with polished pop hooks.
- Faith Hill‘s Breathe (1999) also charted hugely on both country and adult contemporary radio.
- LeAnn Rimes was one of the youngest Grammy winners and had a voice that fit both country radio and adult contemporary formats.
This country-pop hybrid was dubbed “New Country” and had an enormous female fanbase. Coyote Ugly rode that wave—both the soundtrack and the movie itself—by selling the fantasy of small-town dreams meeting big-city glamor with a country-pop beat.
Trivia
- The real Coyote Ugly bar was founded in NYC in 1993 by Liliana Lovell. It became famous for rowdy bar-top performances, shots poured directly into mouths, and a “no rules” vibe.
- The success of the movie led to bar franchises opening across the country and a reality show called The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search on CMT.
- The film was based on a GQ article titled “The Muse of the Coyote Ugly Saloon” by Elizabeth Gilbert—yes, that Elizabeth Gilbert who later wrote Eat, Pray, Love.
The “No-Rules” Americana of Coyote Ugly vs. MAGA Culture
Coyote Ugly seems like it plays like Bud Lite commercial, filled with rugged individualism, bootcut jeans, and female empowerment that’s filtered through the male gaze and doused in tequila.
It’s a vision of America where the rules don’t apply, the working class is sexy and scrappy, and dreams are just a choreographed dance away from reality.
Sound familiar?
That same fantasy—a place where people can do what they want, say what they want, and never apologize—is part of the emotional core of MAGA-era America, too. Of course, Coyote Ugly sells it with LeAnn Rimes choruses and glittery tank tops, while MAGA rallies tend to favor Kid Rock and camo.
But the cultural wiring is oddly similar:
- Individualism as Virtue: Violet gets her big break not by networking or hard work, but by dancing on a bar and getting noticed. MAGA politics are all about the self-made mythos—bootstraps over bureaucracy.
- Rebellion as Identity: In Coyote Ugly, rules are meant to be broken (especially fire codes). In the MAGA worldview, institutions are seen as enemies of freedom, and rule-breaking is framed as heroism.
- Patriotism as Aesthetic: Both love the look of America more than the responsibility of it. One waves a flag while sliding down a bar in daisy dukes; the other waves it from the back of a pickup truck, possibly on the way to storm a Capitol.
- Empowerment via Performance: The Coyotes take control of their lives by putting on a show. So does political theater in 2024—it’s all optics, slogans, and viral moments.
It seems like Jerry Bruckheimer wanted Coyote Ugly to be a G-rated MAGA rally with PG-13 cleavage. It’s 2025 America as spectacle, where the only rule is to break every other rule and 1) make sure it looks cool in slow motion and 2) sells soundtracks.
Bottom Five Needledrops:
Mike, I think I went with Bottom Five Needle Drops for this episode because I’m just a huge fan of the way music and movies work together. I’m assuming this has a lot to do with my growing up in the 80’s and 90’s when the art of montage sequences, MTV music videos and charting hit songs from movie soundtracks was all the rage. But regardless of the reason, I love them. Real Genius, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, hell, we have even discussed how Pretty Woman had a few bangers – yes, I still stand by King of Wishful Thinking by Go West – and that’s such a small sampling of when cinema gets the needle drop right. Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction, even fucking Dumb and Dumber. Genius stuff. But… when movies get it wrong? Oh man, it’s a record-scratch across a viewer’s soul. Whether it’s jarringly mismatched in tone, a song so on-the-nose it makes you roll your eyes to the back of your head, or just something we’ve all heard way too many times in trailers, montages, and bad TV ads for used car dealerships—it’s the cinematic equivalent of that one guy who has to play “Wonderwall” at every party. You know the one. So for my Bottom Five it’s not that these are the worst songs ever written… it’s simply that they’re the wrong songs at the wrong moments.
5. “I Touch Myself” – Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Performed by: The Divinyls Directed by: Jay Roach | Music by: George S. Clinton Starring: Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley
There’s a lot of clever music use in Austin Powers—from Quincy Jones’ “Soul Bossa Nova” to deep-cut ‘60s tracks that perfectly sell its shagadelic time warp. But this needle drop? Not so groovy, baby. When “I Touch Myself” blasts in, it’s as if the movie got nervous you wouldn’t get the joke and decided to spell it out in karaoke-sized subtitles. Let’s be clear: the song is great. Christina Amphlett and The Divinyls delivered an unashamedly sexy, catchy track in 1990. But in Austin Powers, it’s used with a thudding lack of subtlety as a literal gag about horniness. It grinds the movie’s groovy soundtrack vibe—otherwise steeped in day-glow vibes from composer George S. Clinton (no, not THAT George Clinton) as well as The Zombies, and Strawberry Alarm Clock—right to a halt with all the tact of a horny bulldozer. Seriously, it’s like watching someone graffiti over an original Mod painting with a crayon drawing of boobs, a clumsy move for an otherwise clever send-up.
4. “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” – St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)
Performed by: John Parr Directed by: Joel Schumacher Starring: Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy
This movie wanted this song to be the graduation anthem of the Brat Pack generation. Instead, it comes off like a montage from an Olympic fundraising PSA. John Parr’s power anthem was written not about the film’s characters, but about wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen’s “Man in Motion” world tour—a historic journey during which Hansen crossed through 34 countries, a total of 24,901 miles (40,073 km), to raise awareness about the capabilities of disabled people and help fund spinal cord research. So this song by Parr and uber-producer David Foster (oh he of Unbreak My Heart and Because You Loved Me balladeering) has all of these motivational lyrics that have absolutely nothing to do with a bunch of well-off Georgetown grads getting their feelings hurt. The song hijacks the film’s emotional tone and turns angst over relationships and fear of a privileged future into an anthem of fiery triumph. What’s crazy is that it was a huge hit and is 100% associated with these sad-sack, sweater-wearing clowns than it is about the actual, inspirational story.
3. “Hallelujah” – Watchmen (2009)
Performed by: Leonard Cohen Directed by: Zack Snyder | Music Supervisor: Alexandra Patsavas | Cinematography: Larry Fong Starring: Malin Akerman, Patrick Wilson
Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” is a gorgeous, mournful ballad. So naturally, Filmjitsu resident punching-bag, Zack Snyder (he of Affleck Batman and SuckerPunch renown) decided to slap it onto a slow-motion sex scene in a glowing owl-shaped spaceship. It’s hard to overstate how ludicrously mismatched the tone is. While Cohen’s lyrics meditate on spiritual despair and human longing, the visuals feel like 3 a.m. Skinemax with a cape budget. The song had already been overused in film and TV by 2009, in everything from Shrek to The West Wing, but this scene may have ended its shelf life forever, forever and indelibly associating it with awkward, owl-themed simulated sex. Am I thankful for Malin Akerman’s courage to do such a scene? Yes, yes I am. Do I want to put on almost ANY OTHER SONG when I re-watch it for the 1000th time – ahem – yeah, yeah I do.
2. “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Performed by: B.J. Thomas | Music by: Burt Bacharach | Lyrics by: Hal David Directed by: George Roy Hill
The moment is iconic. Here’s a classic example of a scene being too memorable—for the wrong reasons. Paul Newman’s Butch rides a bicycle through golden fields, wooing Katharine Ross’ Etta to the upbeat sounds of “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.” The issue? There’s not a cloud in the sky. Tonally, the scene veers so hard into goofy musical interlude that it feels like the film temporarily switched reels with Hello, Dolly! B.J. Thomas recorded the song while recovering from laryngitis, which lends it an odd fragility, and Bacharach’s breezy lounge-pop is charming, but wildly out of sync with the dusty, doomed cowboy tale surrounding it. I know, I know… It’s part comedy and director George Roy Hill, best known for this and his other team-ups with Paul Newman like The Sting and Slap Shot, wanted a contemporary score to offset the gritty Western vibe. But no, it really doesn’t work. That said, it won the Oscar for Best Original Song and became a hit, so plenty of other people felt the vibes. Maybe I’m wrong, but I have to say… I’m pretty sure I’m not. Whether it’s a generational lens or simply just my personal taste in music, this scene will forever be a misfire in an otherwise near-perfect flick.
1. “Bad to the Bone” – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Performed by: George Thorogood & The Destroyers Directed by: James Cameron
This iconic blues-rock riff kicks in the moment our newly heroic Terminator gears up in biker gear, shades, and attitude. The problem? It turns what was once a terrifying, emotionless murder machine into a wink-wink cartoon character. The original Terminator (1984) was lean, mean, and genuinely scary. But by 1991, the franchise was already flirting with self-parody. “Bad to the Bone” became the official anthem of “Cool Dad;” a go-to track for “He’s tough now!” moments that it might as well be sold as stock music under “ironic leather jacket entrance.” The fact that James Cameron thought this was a good idea – in a sequel to his own tough-as-gargled-nails movie – will forever be astounding to me. He gave into the fad of the day: having Schwarzenegger deliver cheeky one-liners for audience pop. He shouldn’t have. And sadly, this set the even more uneven tone of T3, a movie I adore but which I will 100% admit puts nails to chalkboard EVERY TIME it tries to be funny. I suppose it’s ironic that The Terminator is what started all this one-liner business with “I’ll be back,” but I’m still shocked that such a random, lightning in a bottle moment wasn’t see as just that. So, we’re stuck with these terrible quotes and, even worse, an awful ALL TIME needledrop. Get it? See what I did there? LOL.
BONUS OPTIONS
“Born to Be Wild” – Every Movie with a Motorcycle or a Midlife Crisis
Performed by: Steppenwolf First Notably Used:Easy Rider (1969) From Problem Child to Wild Hogs to Herbie: Fully Loaded, this song has become cinematic shorthand for “Look! They’re being rebellious!” But what was once an electrifying rebel anthem has been stripped for parts, repackaged, and sold back as Harley-Davidson stock music in somewhere around 40 different movies. GOOD LORD.
“Love Hurts” – Halloween (2007)
Performed by: Nazareth Directed by: Rob Zombie Nazareth’s power ballad is a weepy dirge of adolescent heartbreak. So naturally, Rob Zombie thought it would pair perfectly with… the childhood trauma and murder of a young Michael Myers? The usage here is so misjudged it turns tragedy into maudlin kitsch. Not even the Devil’s Rejects would weep to this one.