Coyote County Loser

7 August 2013. This romantic comedy follows in the footsteps of Doc Hollywood (1991), He Said, She Said (1991), and more recently has elements found in Morning Glory (2010). What seems to be memorable about this movie is the nasty and almost acidic and cold relational encounters between Lauren and Jack that almost tears the comedic tolerance tone of the movie. However, as such romantic movies mostly go, the bad goes with the good, and the polar extremes allows the good to be a might better because of the contrast. There is happiness and sadness in the movie's plot, there's relational insight and a comparative offering about romance and love.

The movie focused primarily on the two stars in the movie, with brief glimpses into other characters, though the other on the air broadcasters were indeed pretty much ignored and cut short in this 90 minute movie. In some respects the ending might have been more intriguingly different and the opportunity was there, but the script didn't risk being more independent and different in its approach to the classic romantic comedy. The movie was great about avoiding stereotypes, incorporated ultimately a balanced perspective about relationships with integrity, nevertheless, it still seemed to be overly convenient and a tad simplistic in its overall presentation of its major theme about love.

I loved this film. I also loved the similarly themed Doc Hollyood, with Michael J. Fox in the 80s. Only in that movie, the town itself and the conflict between big city and small town life played larger roles. This one was primarily a love story.

I've never heard of anyone in this film, but they all did an amazing job. Nikki Boyer, the female protagonist, was totally believable as the all-talk/no-action academic. There's no explanation for why she looks like she may be from India, yet her deceased screen dad was a rancher in New Mexico. Maybe she was supposed to be part Native American, or Hispanic.

Beau Clark, the male lead played his role as part alpha male/part city slicker/part vulnerable everyman with precision, while making it look easy.

I am so tired of movies about fighters, psycho killers, sex-crazed teens, and dysfunctional families. This one thoroughly entertained me without one use of profanity and zero sex. Nice job.

It renewed in me, a boyish optimism about love that I thought had long departed. It also prompted me to contemplate how true love smooths out other existential decisions. When you're in love, you can accept your fate without wanting much more. Or so the film says.

Populate your evenings with films and values like this, and you'll live a blessed life.

Don't start watching Coyote County Loser expecting realism. For starters, the entire county seems to consist of about 30 people, a listener base that seems somehow able to support a full-time roster of talk radio personalities in the middle of the desert.

Some of these personalities, like the host of the Conspiracy Hour, are quite funny.

But the story really revolves around two of the talk radio DJs - cynical and logical Lauren Hartford (played with spunk by Nikki Boyer) and the charming, impulsive Jack Proctor (played by Beau Clark).

Jack has gotten stuck in town for a bit on his way to a big-city DJ job in Los Angeles and ends up competing with local personality Lauren to see whose version of love makes the most sense.

Should the town's ladies continue to listen to Lauren and compare their menfolk against Non-Negotiable Check Lists (NNCLs)? Or should the men use romance and charm (not to mention the occasional shower and breath mint) to sweep the objects of their affection off their feet.

The big studios have mostly given up on little stories with a slice of American flavor that show people concerned with the most momentous issues of all - who to choose as a life partner, who deserves to be given the key to your heart.

In short, for those who like some laughs, some romance and a nice dose of witty reparte, Coyote County Loser turns out to be a real winner.

It's rare that an independent film with a minor-league budget achieves real cinema magic, especially when it's just telling a boy-meets-girl story without gimmicks or shock value. But Coyote County Loser is one of those magical rarities, and don't be surprised if the music fades, the lights come up, and you find yourself keeping your seat to immediately watch it all over again.

The hook for the film involves a big time radio "love doctor," Jack Proctor (Beau Clark), getting stranded in a podunk town while driving through the desert southwest. It turns out the town already has a local AM radio love advice expert, the lovely Lauren Hartford (Nikki Boyer). The two immediately get under each other's skin when the cocky, impulsive Jack decides to prank call Lauren's earnest, practical advice hour. Sparks fly and conflict ensues as the two relationship "experts" each find their own approaches to love stymied by the other, and of course, it wouldn't be a romantic comedy if they didn't finally fall in love in the end. While giving that away doesn't exactly spoil anything the audience can't see coming, one of the delightful surprises of Coyote County Loser is how the plot throws some curveballs just in time to keep the finale interesting.

With Jack stranded in town, Lauren's radio station manager offers him the chance to stick around and stir things up on air. With Jack and Lauren bumping elbows in what was once Lauren's solo domain, Jack is provoked into entering a bet with Lauren: if his love advice can't get the most pathetic sap in the county a date with the girl of his dreams, he'll leave town and never look back. What Jack doesn't realize until it's too late, however, is that Coyote County's biggest loser might just have his eye on the same girl he does, and to win the bet, he may end up helping someone else win Lauren's heart. The scenery is possibly the film's greatest asset, as the brilliant skies and open vistas in and around Roswell, New Mexico, where the film was mostly shot, immediately make plausible the idea that a big city radio jockey might just be willing to lose himself forever with the girl of his dreams in this desert paradise. It is a landscape made for longing hearts, and it draws the audience in from the first minute.

Coyote County Loser enjoys a cast that has the right mix of Hollywood experience and undiscovered talent (with, admittedly, a few obvious amateurs making the most of their first opportunity in front of a camera).

The star of the film is, without a doubt, Nikki Boyer, probably best known as the spunky studio hostess for the TV Guide Channel. The camera renders her mesmerizing in the light of New Mexico's sunsets, and the script gives her a range of personality aspects to navigate between. She alternates among confident, accomplished Ph.D. in her field, vulnerable girl wishing for the very romance she's terrified of, tomboy car mechanic, snarky on-air sparring partner, and doting daughter. She plays them all with total authenticity.

Beau Clark may not be a recognizable star, but on screen as Jack he's magnetic. He throws a casual, roguish vibe that, for most of the film, is pitch perfect, though there are moments the script asks him to walk right up to the edge of playing the kind of cocky slimeball that risks losing the audience's sympathy. To be sure, Jack evolves quite a bit throughout the film as the romantic narrative gradually draws the leads together, and it's apparent Clark as an actor evolves, too. It's fairly obvious which scenes were shot earliest during the principal photography, as some of Jack's initial scoundrel moments overshoot the character's center. But once established, the rapport between Boyer and Clark resonates and you're rooting for love to finally take hold.

Playing third fiddle in the love triangle is Frederic Doss as Lyle the junkyard auto mechanic, who very nearly steals the show with his handful of scenes. He plays the classic shy country boy with a golden heart and a secret crush, and it's a credit to the scriptwriters, director Jason Naumann, and Doss himself that for a while, you're not sure who you'd rather see find happiness with the lovely Lauren Hartford – Jack or Lyle? Longtime Hollywood role players Wayne Grace and K Callan play a delightful older couple who alternately give sage advice and play mischievous matchmakers to Jack and Lauren. Unexpectedly, the story finds them to be the strong core around which all the other players revolve. Both Grace and Callan have moments on screen where their passion for this little indy film is clear, as lines that surely would have looked quite ordinary on the page become little gems of human insight in the subtle delivery.

The film has an engaging score and a toe-tapping musical selection, including several songs composed for the film, that bring both an authentic desert southwest flavor to the journey and also drive the momentum of the storyline forward.

And the movie does build momentum. As the pieces of the plot ultimately come rushing together in a dramatic crescendo, it's hard to believe the energy of the finale didn't require a car chase to bring it home – although you might literally see one coming on first viewing.

The producing/writing team of brothers Jacob and Lucas Roebuck and Robert Bethke strove to make a film that was engaging, dramatic and cut no corners in its absorbing entertainment value – while sticking to a commitment that it should be a family friendly film with a wholesome outlook on love.

The result is a film that is delightfully good, in spite of occasional clues to its budget limitations.

This is your average feel-good story. Due to the small town atmosphere of this movie I found it fun to watch. Also, I enjoyed the country scenery in the film. A person looking for a relaxing movie with a country feel will enjoy this movie. However, the story is fairly basic and the conflicts subtle. I felt the characters were a tad predictable. Also, I felt the jokes were a bit fake. The emotions of the characters weren't quite on either. The main characters were fine but the supporting characters real didn't have much substance and dragged the movie to a below average standard. For these reasons I gave the movie a 4 out of 10 rating.