Pure Country

At the beginning of the film, an opening credit sequence is shown in the style of Cheers, featuring photographs of his souvenirs that define Dusty's life. And then, we see various shots of the audience chanting "Dusty!", which is repeated throughout. Meanwhile, the band begins, as the smoke and the lights are turned on, we see Wyatt "Dusty" Chandler (George Strait) sporting a beard and ponytail, which made him to look like the late Warren Oates, as he enters the stage, The band begins, and Dusty couldn't find the guitar. So the band starts playing, and he grabs the guitar. He performs "Heartland", "Baby Your Baby", and a shortened version of "Where the Sidewalk Ends". After the concert, Lula has a conversation with Dusty, and he's tired of all the smoke and the lights, and he couldn't hear the music loud, so he stopped singing for three bars. Dusty didn't like the sets, he doesn't like the lights, he doesn't like sneaking his boyfriend in his bus, and he doesn't like cramming his songs down his throat. So Lula wants a cassette tape for Dusty to hear a new single called "Overnight Male". Dusty tells Lula that Buddy Jackson is a member of the road crew. Lula has a conversation with Dusty that he's much more than a road crew, drawing more than 20 people, and had a good taste. During the song, various tour buses are coming to town for Dusty's band. On the road, Dusty wears sunglasses, and performs "Overnight Male". Buddy Jackson (Kyle Chandler) has a conversation with him, telling him to bring the strings, the horns, and the accordion, and there was no accordion. The song plays again, and Lula is arguing with Buddy by telling him not to play the song again. Back at the Shreveport concert, Dusty continues performing "Overnight Male", and then, he performs a blurry version of "Where the Sidewalk Ends", as he puts the guitar down. When the concert was over, they were so many strobe lights when Dusty left the stage. Dusty and the other members of the band leave the stage, and it's better than ever, incredible sound. Lula doesn't want Buddy to be in the tour bus. Earl wants Dusty a beer, and has a conversation with his drummer Earl Blackstock (John Doe). Without telling his manager, Lula (Lesley Ann Warren), he decides to take a walk, but does not say exactly where he is going or for how long. Dusty was waiting for his truck, and he hitches for a ride. So he cuts off his beard and ponytail, revealing that Dusty is clean shaven. The waitress tells Dusty that he's new around here.

Dusty moved into the ranch home, and has a conversation with Ivy Chandler (Molly McClure). She kept Dusty's old guitar, and begins to play. Dusty kisses Ivy as he leaves the house, and walks down the road to go to the graveyard. He goes into the bar by having a conversation with the bartender (Gil Glasgow), where he and Earl played prior to making it big. He shows a picture of Harley Tucker. Outside the Shreveport concert, they were waiting in line to get tickets to see Dusty's show, and they were getting ready for the concert. Lula has a conversation by telling the members of Dusty's band that they never get their show, and Lula tells them where Dusty is. The band members tell Lula that the concert is canceled, but Lula tells the band members that the show is not canceled, and they're 25,000 fans out there. The toilet flushes, and it turns out to be Dusty. The concert begins, and Buddy comes on stage, disguised as Dusty himself. Lula tells the band to bring the lights down really slow, and they needed more smoke. Buddy is wearing Dusty's clothes from the beginning of the film. Lula is talking with the members of Dusty's band on a speaker, and Buddy performs with the band on stage, lip-syncing to a recording of Dusty, covered by lights and smoke the gimmick works. The band wasn't very happy for Lula for letting Buddy pose as Dusty, rather than canceling the concert. Meanwhile, in a down home bar, Dusty hangs around for some relaxation, and discovers Harley Tucker (Isabel Glasser), dancing and smiling at Dusty. Al (Mark Walters), Harley's drunk and rugged friend, get into an argument in the parking lot over Dusty in the pouring rain, who neither have ever seen or met. Dusty, while drunk, comes to assist Harley with Al, who won't stop bothering her. Al punches Dusty, and he falls to the ground. Back at the Shreveport concert, Buddy is still wearing Dusty's clothes lip-syncing on stage, and Lula tells the band to kill the spot, and the concert was over. Buddy poses himself as Dusty after the concert was over. Lula tells the band members of what Buddy is doing, such as canceling the show, and rain checking, but he couldn't play with a guy of who's lip-syncing, and telling where Dusty is Buddy Jackson. The guys tell Buddy that they were not playing games, so Buddy tells them that he goes into Dusty's bus, but the band member said that Buddy doesn't want to get into Dusty's bus. So Buddy tells him that he's Dusty, and he doesn't want to get his fans suspicious. Inside the bus, Lula is having a conversation with Buddy after the concert was over. Earl punches Buddy, and he falls to the ground. Dusty wakes up the next morning, and tells Harley that it's Friday. Harley has a conversation with him, telling that Dusty changed his name to Wyatt while petting the horse. Harley tells Wyatt that it's time for breakfast. Inside the Tucker house, Wyatt has a conversation with the Tuckers while eating breakfast. The truck comes by, and Wyatt goes outside, and has a conversation with Al, who got his nose and his hand bandaged. Harley tells Wyatt and Al that they were all drunk last night, and Harley tells Wyatt to get back in the house. Wyatt punches Al in the face, and he gets a nosebleed. Harley tells Wyatt to go back in the house, and she stepped on Al's hand when it hurts. Wyatt goes back in the house to have a conversation with Ernest (Rory Calhoun in his last film appearance). Wyatt stays on at the ranch, paying room and board, and taking roping lessons. Ernest confides in Wyatt that he is forced to slowly sell pieces of the ranch home. Back at the down home bar, Harley is dancing with Wyatt as "I'm Going Right a Great Country Wrong" plays. The song "Crazy Heart" by The Cactus Brothers plays, and Harley punches Wyatt, and Lula tells Wyatt that it's time to come home. Wyatt has a conversation with Earl and Harley in the tour bus, and Wyatt and Harley are standing outside with the tour buses. Harley is determined to save the struggling spread with victory in a Las Vegas rodeo. On the TV, there was a Country Music Network program called "Milli Vanilli in Reverse", and they did a news report on Buddy lip-syncing in concert. We see various shots of Las Vegas at night, where Wyatt left Shreveport, and moved to The Mirage hotel in Las Vegas. Monique James does a report on Country Music Network.

Buddy confronts Lula after his performance and demands $100,000 and a recording contract, or he will tell the media about Wyatt's no-show. Buddy, is not granted his wishes, so he tells all the media outlets that Lula offered him the money and contract to pose as Dusty, which clearly is a lie. Lula, realizing she's in trouble, reaches out to Earl to find Dusty. She then follows him to Wyatt's location. Realizing he has feelings for Harley and will not leave, Lula tells Harley that Wyatt is married to her. Harley dumps Wyatt, and Lula is waiting to scoop him up to return to his band and career. Now back with his band, he demands that his stage shows be toned down, without all the smoke and elaborate lighting of which he had grown weary. Wyatt wants Buddy Jackson found so he can confront him about what he told the media. Wyatt meets with Buddy and confronts him about the lie he told the press. Wyatt gets mad at Buddy, because he told the press about Lula offering him money for a recording contract to pose as Dusty. So Wyatt tells Buddy to go on and get him out of here. Lula is grateful for his intervention to which Wyatt brings up Harley's name. They were getting ready for Dusty's concert. Lula secretly arranges for Harley and her family to get tickets to Dusty's Show. Once seated, she sends an attendant to get Harley where she admits the truth to her. At the end of the film, Dusty performs on the edge of the stage, playing guitar, and singing "I Cross My Heart," a special live song he has composed for her, which wins him Harley's forgiveness. The two hug at the edge of the stage, and then, the credits roll, with the song "She Lays it All on the Line".

• George Strait as Wyatt "Dusty" Chandler
• Lesley Ann Warren as Lula Rogers
• Isabel Glasser as Harley Tucker
• Kyle Chandler as Buddy Jackson
• John Doe as Earl Blackstock
• Rory Calhoun as Ernest Tucker
• Molly McClure as Grandma Ivy Chandler
• James Terry McIlvain as Tim Tucker
• Toby Metcalf as J.W. Tucker
• Mark Walters as Al
• Tom Christopher as Dave - Dusty's Bodyguard
• Jeffrey R. Fontana as Eddie - Dusty's Bodyguard
• Jeff Prettyman as Bobby Lewis
• David Anthony as Dusty's Band
• Mike Daily as Dusty's Band
• Gene Elders as Dusty's Band
• Benny MacArthur as Dusty's Band
• Terry Hale as Dusty's Band
• Ronnie Huckaby as Dusty's Band
• Mike Kennedy as Dusty's Band
• Rick McRae as Dusty's Band
• Sharon Thomas as Monique James
• Julie Johnson as Waitress
• Gil Glasgow as Bartender

Pure Country was filmed in 1991 throughout Texas, but mostly in Maypearl.

The graveyard scene was shot at Cresson Cemetery in Cresson, Texas, and the concert sequences were filmed at concert venues in Fort Worth, including North Side Coliseum and Will Rogers Coliseum.

The bar scenes where Dusty meets Harley were filmed at Western Kountry Klub, located between Midlothian and Mansfield Tx.

Despite Strait's popularity in the music world, Pure Country only grossed just over $15 million at the box office. Although, the expectations had been higher for Strait's first major film role, this did not stop the soundtrack album from becoming the best-selling album of Strait's career to date.[3]

The film also received mainly negative reviews upon its release, but critics responded nicely to certain aspects of the film. It currently has a score of 41% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 10, and a 91% audience approval.[4]

On the television program Siskel and Ebert in 1992, film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert both gave the film a "Two thumbs down" rating, but their reviews were more mixed than negative. Both praised George Strait's performance, feeling that he was a convincing actor in the lead, especially considering the challenges of a singer becoming an actor, and they both enjoyed Isabel Glasser's performance, but felt the film was undermined by a hokey story, and no moments for satire which would have made the film better. Film critic Leonard Maltin, in his annual Movie and Video Guide, also gave the film a mainly negative but somewhat mixed review, giving it two stars out of four and saying: "This Strait showcase is mostly pure tedium, though the film picks up some in hour two with the appearance of Glasser, and Rory Calhoun as her father".

A sequel to Pure Country, Pure Country 2: The Gift was released on October 15, 2010.[5] Pure Country 2: The Gift has no storyline connection to the original movie written by Rex McGee. Instead, it focuses on a young woman's struggles to become a country singer. George Strait appears as himself, but not as a central character of the film.

A second sequel titled, Pure Country: Pure Heart was released for a direct-to-video on August 1, 2017. This film has no storyline connection to the original movie, either, and no original characters make any appearances.

• See Pure Country (album)

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Pure Country

• Pure Country at IMDb
• Pure Country at AllMovie
• Pure Country at Rotten Tomatoes
• Pure Country at the TCM Movie Database
• 1992 George Strait Interview About Pure Country Part 1
• 1992 George Strait Interview About Pure Country Part 2