[4][5] It was directed by David McNally, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman, and written by Gina Wendkos.

Set in New York City, the film stars Piper Perabo in her breakthrough role, Adam Garcia, Maria Bello, Melanie Lynskey, and John Goodman.

[6] The film received mostly negative reviews and was a box office success, grossing $113 million worldwide.

[9] Violet Sanford leaves her hometown of South Amboy, New Jersey, her father Bill, and her best friend Gloria, to pursue her dreams of becoming a songwriter in nearby New York City.

Violet tells Kevin she inherited her stage fright from her now-deceased mother, who also moved to New York in her youth to pursue her dreams of singing.

That night, Bill gets hit by a car and is seriously injured which almost prompts Violet to move back to South Amboy.

[13] Production first filmed in Manhattan and small towns in New Jersey including South Amboy and Sea Bright for a month.

They then moved to California and shooting took place in Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Pasadena, and San Pedro.

[14] The film was based on an article, "The Muse of the Coyote Ugly Saloon", in GQ by Elizabeth Gilbert,[15] who worked as a bartender in the East Village, Manhattan.

[17] Criticisms and praise centered around the belief that it was little more than an excuse to portray "hot, sexy women dancing on a bar in a wet T-shirt contest".

The site's consensus states: "Coyote Ugly has an enthusiastically trashy energy and undeniable aesthetic appeal, but it's nowhere near enough to make up for the film's shallow, unimaginative story.

[20] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.[21] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times asked "Do you get the feeling these movies are assembled from off-the-shelf parts?"

"[23] Robert Koehler of Variety called it "The latest and most calculated re-do on the formulaic fantasy of an innocent conquering Gotham.

[26][27] Justin Kirkland of Esquire praised the film for "capturing the hilariously sincere optimism of the Year 2000", saying "Coyote Ugly is a categorically bad film, but in its 101 minute run, it manages to capture the vibe of an iconic year that was plucky and unassuming with a delusional and misplaced sense of hope.

)[2] The extended cut adds approximately six minutes to the film's runtime, most of which consists of additional shots of the "coyotes" dancing on the bar and of Violet and Cammie trying on different outfits while shopping.

[30] It features Violet's four songs from the film, performed by LeAnn Rimes and written by Diane Warren.

[32][33] Three singles were released from the soundtrack, all by LeAnn Rimes: "Can't Fight the Moonlight" which achieved gold status and peaked at No.