By Najila Moussa

The scene at McGann’s, a bar in downtown Boston, looked like something out of a movie-the “Coyote Ugly” movie to be exact. Girls of all ages were dancing on the tops of tables, spilling their drinks with every sway of their hips. Not surprisingly, they were all clad in midriff bearing tops and low slung pants. Very low slung pants.

The girls seemed to be high on excitement. And with bystanders ogling them while they shook their bodies in sync with the music, the scene at McGann’s became shockingly similar to the movie. The only difference was that the Coyotes in the film weren’t half as wild as the girls in the bar.

Girls from all over the area flocked to Friend Street to become one of the new Coyotes in Boston. The famously wild Coyote Ugly bar is coming to Boston. And seeing the girls’ behavior, the only question that remains is, do these girls know what they are getting themselves into?

Over 300 hundred girls would wait for over an hour in line to get a chance to become the next Coyote. Only 30 would make the final cut. Many of them were 18 years old. Others were over the age of 27. Some were overweight and some had perfect figures. Both classically good looking and average looking girls stood in line, hoping for the chance to fulfill a fantasy. The only thing they had in common was that they all wanted to be the sexy and cool Coyotes that they had seen in the movie.

But as Jacqui Squatriglia, the first real-life Coyote as well as co-owner of the New Orleans Coyote Ugly bar says, ” This is a business”.

Someone must have forgotten to tell some of the girls that.

Listening to the younger girls talk, it seemed blatantly obvious that they saw this as simply a fun prospect. Many of them seemed unaware of the hardships and frustrations of working in a crowded bar. To them, the Coyote Ugly bar was just an extension to the movie.

Stella Poco, a 19-year-old college student said that she was inspired to audition after having watched the movie.

“It seems like a really fun place to work,” she stated.

One of our very own, Cindy Em, a 19-year-old middler, also described the job as being fun. However, when asked how she felt about men leering at her she said, “I can handle perverted men.”

Yet looking at these girls dancing themselves into a frenzy, one might not get the impression that they could handle themselves, let alone customers.

The girls who made the first cut were asked to wait at McGann’s for the second tryouts to start. Having waited for so long for the auditions to begin, the girls who were asked to stay back seemed psychologically drained. Many of them started drinking at the bar to pass the time and calm their nerves before having to go through the ordeal all over again.

That’s when the scene turned chaotic.

Over 50 girls, many who were drunk, started to dance at the bar, as if proving their stamina. The only ones who seemed deflated were those in their late 20s. They were also the girls who thought of the job as strictly a job. And they had a lot to say about the younger girls’ behavior.

Liz Cardoso, a 27-year-old bartender, said,

“When the place is filled to the max and people are calling at you nonstop, you have to stay professional. It’s not like the movie. Leann Rimes will not show up and sing. At the end of the night, you’ll be picking up ashtrays full of [expective]”.

When asked what advantages she had over the younger girls, Susan Mahoney, 26, said, “I’m an actual bartender with real experience”.

John Cestare, the owner of the Atlanta and soon-to-be Coyote bar in Boston, had the same idea.

“This is not going to be like the movie. Anyone can mix a drink. These girls have to have the whole package. And attitude is key.”

Cestare also said that unlike the other Coyote bars, the one in Boston will be more toned down. It’s going to be a real restaurant and the fire-antics seen in the movie will not take place in the bar.

The Coyote Ugly bar that inspired the making of the film, was established ten years ago, on January 27, 1993.

Liliana Lovell, a then 24-year-old bartender famous for her bar antics, decided to start her own establishment. She was joined by Jacqui Squatriglia, a dance major come bartender.

Together they created a bar with live dance performances that didn’t have stripping in the agenda. It seemed they had the right idea because every Coyote bar in the country has become a success.

Coyote Ugly will open its doors to Boston patrons on July 30. Whether Bostonians will be able to handle all this sexiness remains to be seen.

As Sarah Davenport, a 26-year-old Coyote hopeful says,

“We just want to go in their, kick some [expective], mix some drinks, and make some money”.