I've been sitting here at my desk for the last several minutes trying to come up with a logical explanation for why I liked this film. I can't do it. There simply is no good reason for me to have enjoyed Coyote Ugly. Every element of the plot is a tired, re-used cliché and if you can't see every twist in the story coming a mile away then you should be ashamed of yourself.

Piper Perabo plays Violet Sanford, an aspiring songwriter who moves to New York in an attempt to make someone else famous. Yes, you read that right. Her goal is to write songs for other musicians. This is because for Violet it's easier to write than it is to perform. She has a phobia about being on stage.

Violet learns that the only way to get her songs noticed is to actually perform them. Knowing that this is impossible for her and desperate for money, she pleads for a job at a hot nightclub called Coyote Ugly. The bar is owned by a woman and employs only women as bartenders. These "Coyotes" strut their sexuality behind the bar and on top of it with antics that suggest a background in gymnastics and strip clubs. Violet is told that she can either lose the shy chip on her shoulder and join the performance or she can hit the road.

It quickly becomes apparent that Violet's addition to the Coyote Ugly staff couldn't have happened at a better time. The bar is quickly besieged with one catastrophe after another and only Violet's sweet singing voice can come to the rescue. Yes, friends and neighbors, Violet learns to overcome her stage fright by singing on top of a bar while being pawed at by sexually aggressive drunk men.

This leads to details of what must be the most bizarre incarnation of stage fright I've ever seen: Violet learns that her phobia only extends to songs she's written herself. When it comes to karaoke, on the other hand, she will get on stage and perform with all the abandon of a Vegas showgirl.

Will Violet overcome her fear and finally sing her own songs? Give me a break. I will offer this one comment, however: From the way the Violet character performs her own material, one wonders why she would want anyone else to sing her songs anyway. It would sort of be like having Robert A. Heinlein ghost write for Isaac Azimov - completely unnecessary.

I still haven't come any closer to determining why I liked this film. Sure, there is a lot here that is nice to look at, but that really isn't enough to sway me toward a film. Perhaps it has to do with the enthusiasm and skill of the stars. Given better material, I'm convinced all of them could be doing some really great stuff. Here, they make the movie bearable and, yes, even likable in a strange and inexplicable way.