| Director | David McNally |
|---|---|
| Budget | $45 million |
| Box office | $113.9 million |
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 New York City. Violet unsuccessfully tries multiple times to get her demo tape noticed by recording studios. When she tries to attract the attention of a music industry scout, a bartender convinces her Kevin O'Donnell is the bar manager and Violet is hurt by the joke. Despondent after her apartment is burglarized, she notices three girls at an all-night diner flaunting hundreds of dollars and learns they work at a trendy bar named Coyote Ugly.
Violet convinces the bar owner Lil to audition her but while it doesn't go well, Violet earns a second audition by breaking up a fight between customers and goes shopping with Cammie for better apparel. Violet douses the fire marshal in water during the second audition. Lil is fined $250 but offers Violet a job if she can make up the $250 in one night. Violet auctions Kevin off to a woman at the bar to earn the money and Kevin tells Violet that she owes him. Violet agrees to four dates as payment and the two begin a relationship. Violet's performance of Blondie's "One Way or Another" during a chaotic night at the bar convinces Lil to make her a coyote. Kevin helps Violet overcome the stage fright she inherited from her now-deceased mother who had also moved to New York to pursue dreams of singing.
Bill, Violet's father, sees a photo of Violet in the newspaper and investigates, finding her dancing on the bar with other bartenders pouring pitchers of water over her. He refuses to talk to her when she calls him shortly after. Tensions grow when Lil refuses to let Violet leave for a singing gig Kevin arranged, costing Kevin a rare collectible to a bookie. When Kevin confronts a customer harassing Violet at the bar, Violet breaks up with him, and Lil fires her. Violet returns to New Jersey for Gloria's wedding and Bill is seriously injured when he is hit by a car while operating at a toll booth. Violet considers returning to South Amboy but Bill convinces her not to give up on her dreams and admits her mother never had stage fright; she quit singing because of Bill.
Violet goes to work in a New York restaurant and Lil visits to offer her old job back. Violet finishes a new song and a chance to sing at the Bowery Ballroom. She overcomes her cold feet and performs her song at open mic night with Kevin's help with the Coyotes, Bill, and Gloria in the audience for moral support. The performance leads to a deal with a record label.
Three months later at Coyote Ugly, LeAnn Rimes has recorded Violet's song and sings it on the bar as Violet joins in. After buying back the comic book Kevin lost to the bookie, and allowing Bill to win an auction, Violet kisses Kevin in celebration of the realization of all her dreams.