Coyote County Loser (2009)

Director:

Jason Naumann

Writers:

Robert Bethke (story)
Don Porter (writer)

Release Date:

2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Boy meets girl, girl says whatever

Plot:

In the lonely American Southwest, life is slow for the desert inhabitants of Coyote County. Although...

Cast

Nikki Boyer	...	Lauren Hartford
Beau Clark	...	Jack Proctor
Wayne Grace	...	Fred Hopps
K Callan	...	Maggie Hopps
Frederic Doss	...	Lyle Granger
Tiffany Lynch	...	Katie Bradford
Everette Scott Ortiz	...	Doyle Finkleburger
Chad Brummett	...	Brian Johnson
James Hobbs	...	Red
Roy Black	...	Carl
Nelson Martinez	...	Sanchez
Patti Stacy	...	Darlene
Bob Schneider	...	Farmer #1
Mike Smith	...	Farmer #2
Fred Doe	...	Farmer #3

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild language.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Roswell, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Coyote County Productions

Love is for losers too!

I recently had the opportunity to view Coyote County Loser during one it's recent screenings for it's limited release. A romantic comedy of sorts, it's independent style helps to anchor a nice story and wholesome plot line you never find in normal Hollywood films while still giving you a nice cinematic flavor.

The story follows Jack Proctor, a rising LA radio personality, who stumbles upon the dusty town of Coyote County on his way home in the American Southwest. After getting a rise out of local star Lauren Hartford, with her love advice hour, Jack is offered a bit of syndication K-RAP 780 the local studio. In no rush to get home, Jack accepts. While Jack and Lauren begin to duke it out on the air with their own advice to the residents of the town, the two will come to discover while helping others find love, they may end up hurting each other in the process... or finding love themselves.

With a predictable yet enjoyable plot line, audiences seemed to have found few moments dull (judging by the laughter). The cast, anchored by an array of television personalities, veteran actors and newcomers, held their ground and entertained. Top-lining the romantic ensemble as Lauren is TV-Guide star Nikki Boyer. Never a falter, Boyer is arguably the most entertaining of the actors with a nice mix of personalities to her character, allowed to by the script. Her co-star Beau Clark brings a nice side to Jack underneath the cockiness. Along with Boyer, the two shine on screen together and created wonderful chemistry for the two characters.

Along with Boyer and Clark come veteran actors K Callan and Wayne Grace as The Hopps couple. Easily recognizable, their chemistry on screen seemed to capture a more true essence of love while Jack and Lauren are the more modern day ventures. Callan's kind Maggie is played with small-town subtly while Grace's gentle Fred was a favorite among audiences. Luckily, this is why Coyote County Loser is able to reach out to several different generations.

Falling in a love triangle is newcomer Frederic Doss in the role of Lyle. More likely to be seen playing secret agents and cops in recent films and TV shows, the down-on-his-heels Lyle is quite a difference from Doss's usual fare but his gentle performance shows just what a talented actor he is. Rounding out the romantic ensemble are also newcomers Tiffany Lynch and Everette Scott Ortiz as radio workers Katie and Doyle. Given their own nerdy sexual tension but also providing comedic relief to Jack and Lauren's trysts, the two also give the younger side of audiences something to look out for... and hopefully learn from!

This was the great part about the script is that you meet several different characters all well-developed. No one is left thinking "Hmm, I wish I could've seen more here or there". The well-roundedness of each persona also helps to bring the fictional town of Coyote County to life and at the same giving it a home-cooked flavor that is very much lacking in today's film productions.

With gorgeous cinematography from director of photography Joel Deutsch, showing off the wind-swept landscapes of New Mexico, the colorfulness of the film offers something of a visual aid that helps audiences enjoy the sights more often than not. Producer Jacob Roebuck toiled over to get Coyote County Loser made and finally has become a reality. Certainly not to be passed up, I won't be surprised if we're hearing more from this film than a lot of people are expecting. Audiences are looking for something everyone can see... and hopefully they won't have to look any further.