Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Why is it that everything Jerry Bruckheimer touches seems to turn to gold? Seriously, look at his track record! Almost every film he's done has either gone on to create a new trend in entertainment or in this case a complete line of themed bars across the country. Coyote Ugly isn't anything more than a simple "local girl makes good" story that we see recycled over and over again, yet it launched a chain of bars with the same name across the country. The film has energy to spare and you can help but have a good time with it, but I never would have dreamt it would have the popularity and impact it did. Kudos to Jerry on yet another success. This Blu-ray features two cuts of the film, with a slightly "spicier" cut. Don't expect huge changes though as I barely noticed any difference.

I must say things weren't looking good for this one early one. The first act of this movie doesn't look that great in HD, especially the very opening in Jersey. The image looks soft, washed out and the print looks like it had seen some use. Thankfully things improve dramatically once the story moves to New York. This is one of the few transfers out there that actually looks better in the darker scenes of the film than the brighter ones. Usually it's the opposite, but the contrast and shadow detail is superb here and the vivid colors and lights of the Coyote bar make for some serious eye candy. I was impressed with the dimensionality of the image too, with even long shots looking crisper than I would have expected. While not solid all the way through I don’t think anyone will be real unhappy with this one.

The uncompressed PCM soundtrack is a lot of fun. This is a music heavy soundtrack and the bar favorites come through with nice range and a full bass line. Surrounds are used to fill in the roar of the crowd in the bar sequences but also do a nice job with overall ambience. Some of the dubbing during the singing is a bit distracting, but I never have high expectations with these types of films.

Despite the fact that there are two versions of the film on this disc you still get a nice supply of supplements. There are two commentaries (one for each film) and the video for the LeAnn Rimes song from the soundtrack. You also get a couple short featurettes on the production and themes of the film. Last up is the trailer.

Coyote Ugly is still a fun and sexy ride, though I don't see myself getting a lot of replay from it. The A/V presentation leaves little to be desired and the new cut adds a bit more sizzle. Fans of the film will not be disappointed.