Review : Wonder Boys or Coyote Ugly
12-16-00, 01:46 AM
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...I would say neither...
Anyway, here is a most penetrating review of Coyote Ugly:
http://www.capalert.com/capreports/coyoteugly.htm
!
!
Anyway, here is a most penetrating review of Coyote Ugly:
http://www.capalert.com/capreports/coyoteugly.htm
!
!
12-16-00, 02:25 AM
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On imdb, Wonder Boys got a 7.7, Coyote Ugly got a 6.0. I've heard some good things about Wonder Boys, whil coyote Ugly got some bland reviews ands seems to want to be an R rated movie in a PG-13's body. I'd go with Wonder Boys
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Duffman says a lot of things
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Duffman says a lot of things
12-16-00, 03:48 AM
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12-16-00, 05:50 AM
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My Review Of Coyote Ugly from last Summer:
More Movie/DVD Reviews available at: My Site: A Guide To Current DVD
"Coyote Ugly" is a mess, although a mildly entertaining one. Kind of like the offspring of a beer commercial and an article from Maxim magazine come-to-life, the only problem is that I believe the editors of Maxim could have easily come up with a better screenplay on their own. Not that the script is the only problem with the film.
The film stars cute-as-a-button Piper Perabo as Violet, a girl from New Jersey who leaves her home to travel to New York to become a successful songwriter. The ending in any film like this is predictable and obvious - it's the journey to that point that makes the difference. After a string of bad luck, Violet finds herself in an audition to be another "Coyote"; one of a group of girls who are both waitresses/bartenders and dancers at a Manhattan bar. The only difference is that here, the girls taunt the men, dance on the bar and spray them with water. And they love it. Violet is fairly horrifed at her first viewing, but after a while she gets into her job and is dancing with the rest of the girls. More on this in a moment.
In her search to get her songs heard, Violet runs into a cook at one of the clubs (Adam Garcia) and after a couple of times of her acting disinterested, the two finally become a little more friendly. She has bad stage fright, and he tries to help her get over it. Er, wait. She dances on a bar in front of tons of guys, and she has stage fright? I know this is the kind of film where you just have fun and sort of not question anything, but this was a little bit much.
The bar scenes are easy to get caught up in, and the high-energy scenes are easily the best part of the film. The only problem is there's not enough of them. "Ugly"'s ad campaign made it look like the majority of the film takes place there, and while a lot of the opening half does, the second half moves away from it - and that's where it falls apart. The film suddenly begins to lean towards dramatic and although I have no problem with that, a film like this begins to crumble a bit when it tries to add drama. Beyond that, the transition between the fun and dramatic is sudden and not terribly well-handled.
Of course, this is a Jerry Bruckheimer film. While I actually like some of the producer's pictures("Rock", "Armageddon", etc), those films exist as pure, well-built "Summer" films. No more, no less. It's amazing that, even though this is not a Bruckheimer film where Michael Bay("Armageddon") directed, it still looks like one with its camera motion. And if you're bored, see if you can spot Bay during one of the film's bar sequences.
The performances are generally good. Perabo's performance isn't anything outstanding, but she has a sweetness and presence that carries her along. Maria Bello("Payback") is excellent as the bar owner who takes Violet on. As for the other Coyotes, they don't really get that much of a chance to do anything. John Goodman has a few good moments as Violet's father, as well. The dialogue crosses the line between just plain bad and halfway decent; some of the script was re-written by "Clerks" director Kevin Smith, and his dialogue is some of the more enjoyable.
This certainly isn't anything great, and most of it isn't even what I would call good. Somehow though, some way, "Coyote Ugly" strings together enough entertaining moments to make for a passable picture. It could have certainly been better in a lot of ways, but I never hated sitting through it.
Translation: not a very good movie, but may be entertaining enough to check out as a rental.
[This message has been edited by DVDRules1 (edited December 16, 2000).]
More Movie/DVD Reviews available at: My Site: A Guide To Current DVD
"Coyote Ugly" is a mess, although a mildly entertaining one. Kind of like the offspring of a beer commercial and an article from Maxim magazine come-to-life, the only problem is that I believe the editors of Maxim could have easily come up with a better screenplay on their own. Not that the script is the only problem with the film.
The film stars cute-as-a-button Piper Perabo as Violet, a girl from New Jersey who leaves her home to travel to New York to become a successful songwriter. The ending in any film like this is predictable and obvious - it's the journey to that point that makes the difference. After a string of bad luck, Violet finds herself in an audition to be another "Coyote"; one of a group of girls who are both waitresses/bartenders and dancers at a Manhattan bar. The only difference is that here, the girls taunt the men, dance on the bar and spray them with water. And they love it. Violet is fairly horrifed at her first viewing, but after a while she gets into her job and is dancing with the rest of the girls. More on this in a moment.
In her search to get her songs heard, Violet runs into a cook at one of the clubs (Adam Garcia) and after a couple of times of her acting disinterested, the two finally become a little more friendly. She has bad stage fright, and he tries to help her get over it. Er, wait. She dances on a bar in front of tons of guys, and she has stage fright? I know this is the kind of film where you just have fun and sort of not question anything, but this was a little bit much.
The bar scenes are easy to get caught up in, and the high-energy scenes are easily the best part of the film. The only problem is there's not enough of them. "Ugly"'s ad campaign made it look like the majority of the film takes place there, and while a lot of the opening half does, the second half moves away from it - and that's where it falls apart. The film suddenly begins to lean towards dramatic and although I have no problem with that, a film like this begins to crumble a bit when it tries to add drama. Beyond that, the transition between the fun and dramatic is sudden and not terribly well-handled.
Of course, this is a Jerry Bruckheimer film. While I actually like some of the producer's pictures("Rock", "Armageddon", etc), those films exist as pure, well-built "Summer" films. No more, no less. It's amazing that, even though this is not a Bruckheimer film where Michael Bay("Armageddon") directed, it still looks like one with its camera motion. And if you're bored, see if you can spot Bay during one of the film's bar sequences.
The performances are generally good. Perabo's performance isn't anything outstanding, but she has a sweetness and presence that carries her along. Maria Bello("Payback") is excellent as the bar owner who takes Violet on. As for the other Coyotes, they don't really get that much of a chance to do anything. John Goodman has a few good moments as Violet's father, as well. The dialogue crosses the line between just plain bad and halfway decent; some of the script was re-written by "Clerks" director Kevin Smith, and his dialogue is some of the more enjoyable.
This certainly isn't anything great, and most of it isn't even what I would call good. Somehow though, some way, "Coyote Ugly" strings together enough entertaining moments to make for a passable picture. It could have certainly been better in a lot of ways, but I never hated sitting through it.
Translation: not a very good movie, but may be entertaining enough to check out as a rental.
[This message has been edited by DVDRules1 (edited December 16, 2000).]
12-16-00, 09:27 AM
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Wonder Boys....have not seen it yet but have it on preorder!!! The trailers I have seen interested me enough to preorder it!!! 
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12-16-00, 11:31 AM
#8
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I thought WB was okay, but it meandered a little too much for my taste.
CU is just eye candy, but still earnest if you like these kind of movies.
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PatCave ;HT Pix ;Pat's DVDs
CU is just eye candy, but still earnest if you like these kind of movies.
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PatCave ;HT Pix ;Pat's DVDs
12-17-00, 01:53 AM
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quote:<HR>Originally posted by Hendrik:
...I would say neither...
Anyway, here is a most penetrating review of Coyote Ugly:
http://www.capalert.com/capreports/coyoteugly.htm
!
<HR>
Nice review...although I believe it had the opposite effect on me from what was intended, as I originally was not going to see this film. With such a detailed breakdown of this sinful movie, I think I'll give it a watch...
12-18-00, 11:54 AM
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Wonder Boys. I actually liked it a lot, although I was not expecting to since I adored the Michael Chabon book it was adapted from. (Not to mention I think Michael Douglas is gross.)
--Heather
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[This message has been edited by DVDer (edited December 18, 2000).]
--Heather
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[This message has been edited by DVDer (edited December 18, 2000).]
