'Coyote Ugly' Is Howling Success

Let me first point out that I am a full-on heterosexual female. I like guys, but I'm also one of those females who has no problem telling another woman that she looks good.

So with that in mind, the women in "Coyote Ugly" are far from what the title might make you think -- they're out-and-out hot, sexy and feisty.

This movie was not made with intellect in mind. This movie was not made to annoy feminists. This movie was not made to win an Academy Award (I'm not even sure that it could win an MTV Movie Award). This movie was made purely as eye candy.

"Coyote Ugly" is the name of a bar in New York City (actually the real dive bar is located at First Avenue and Ninth Street and has been labeled the "wildest bar in New York").

Whether or not the movie will do the real bar justice remains to be seen by those who have ventured into the all-wet, all-the-time bar (or at least until my next trip to the Big Apple). But the movie is sure to provide one rowdy and raucous time for both men and women.

"Coyote Ugly" also has another message. Ever been drunk and gone home with someone, and then awakened the next day surprised to see who's lying next to you? At this point, you would do anything to get out of there, even chewing off your arm to get out of bed without disturbing the other person (c'mon, admit it, you've been there). That's what coyotes do when they want out of the trap.

Fortunately, you won't have to go to such extreme measures to get out of the bad movie trap, because the flick isn't that bad. The plot isn't very original: young up-and-comer travels from small-town Jersey to the depths of Manhattan to try and make it as a songwriter. But the script actually makes you like the characters -- root for them and cheer for them, even when they're on top of the bar doing their thing.

The cast is made up of five beautiful women clad in tight leather pants, teeny-tiny logo T-shirts, big belt buckles, cowboy boots and cowboy hats (sure to be the hot fall fashion trends).

Maria Bello, formerly of "ER," plays Lil, the owner and manager of the bar, who runs a tight ship with an iron fist. She's the boss and an original coyote, who sets forth the rules and doesn't take crap from anyone.

Model-actress Tyra Banks, who plays Zoe, barely boogies on the bar before she bounces off to law school.

Izabella Miko makes her American movie debut as Cammie, the tease, whose sweet and innocent nature makes audiences like her even more.

Then there's Rachel (Bridget Moynahan, who can currently be seen on HBO's "Sex and the City" as Mr. Big's trophy wife), otherwise known as the resident witch, who is the meanest, leanest and toughest of the group and who doesn't like newcomer Violet.

Clip And Interview And rounding out the group is the movie's dreamer and heroine, played by Piper Perabo, who was last seen in this summer's animated live-action hybrid "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle." Perabo plays 21-year-old Violet Sanford, who has always dreamed of having Mariah or Whitney sing one of her songs.

All five of these feisty femmes will appeal to the male species. I won't specify which age group might like it more, because the 18-year-olds in the theater were licking their lips over the ladies, and my father, who is nearing 50 years old, can't wait to see the movie.

The characters use their sexuality to bring in the customers and keep them there by doing barely there, clothed strip shows (hence the PG-13 rating), dousing patrons with tequila and themselves with pitchers of cold water -- reminiscent of Jerry Bruckheimer's (who also produced "Ugly") '80s movie "Flashdance."

What makes this even more enjoyable and easier to get through is Perabo and Australian actor Adam Garcia (believe me, girls, his on-top-of-the-bar dance scene alone is worth the $7 or $8), who are destined to become two of Hollywood's "It" stars of tomorrow.

But despite what some critics will most likely say (panning is in this movie's near future), the film moves along at a decent pace and keeps the audience enticed -- literally.

Like any night at a bar after a lot of shots and some beers, this movie will either go down smoothly or make you throw up. But the beautiful barmaids will make it all easier to swallow.

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