Pure Country (film)
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| Pure Country | |
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 Pure Country DVD |
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| Directed by | Christopher Cain |
| Starring | George Strait Lesley Ann Warren Isabel Glasser Kyle Chandler |
| Music by | George Strait |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 23, 1992 |
| Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | US/Canada |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Pure Country is a 1992 film released by Warner Bros. Pictures starring George Strait (in his film debut) and Lesley Ann Warren, and directed by Christopher Cain of Young Guns fame.
[edit] Plot
Superstar Dusty Chandler (Strait) is tired of the smoke, the strobe lights and the overmiked sound of his arena spectaculars. He's especially tired of the grind of life on the road, as dictated by his manager, Lula Rogers (Warren); with whom he has a past history.
An argument between Lula and Dusty over the whole presentation results in a bitter argument between them. The following night, something snaps. "I'm just going to take a little walk," Dusty says as he walks out of the empty concert hall, ditching his beard, ponytail - and temporarily, his career - to reclaim his down-home country roots. He hitches a ride with a truck driver back to Texas, and back home to his grandmother (who is presumed to have raised him after he visits his parents' graves in a later scene), but not before shaving his beard stubble and cutting his ponytail-bound hair short in an effort to avoid being recognized. He successfully tests this theory when he walks into a coffee shop across from the barbershop and the waitress fails to recognize him.
Dusty then returns to the family farm to visit his Grandma Ivy (Molly McClure), who welcomes the visit by noticing that her grandson has showed up without his usual entourage. Dusty's suspicions of his show being too much are confirmed when Grandma Ivy shares his sentiments by saying she couldn't hear him sing over all the distractions when she caught his show in Dallas. After his visit, he collects his old Dove guitar and leaves for a nearby cemetery, visiting the grave of his parents, presumed to have died tragically as the death year for both parents reads 1970 on the tombstone.
After the cemetery, Dusty returns to an old honky-tonk bar, where he and his drummer Earl Blackstock (John Doe) performed before hitting the big-time. Forgetting he has a concert to give in Shreveport, Louisiana that evening, Dusty decides to stay and experiece some of the nightlife line dancing. While there, he becomes enamoured with a woman on the dance floor, as does another cowboy named Al (Mark Walters).
Dusty gets out of his chair and tries to approach Harley, but falls down, having had too much to drink. He stumbles outside in the middle of a heated argument between Harley and Al. Dusty is floored by one of Al's punches after trying to get him to leave her alone. Al, however, receives comeuppance when Harley slams his hand in the door of her truck as he tries to stop her from leaving. She opens the door to release his hand and it strikes and breaks his nose.
Meanwhile, Lula presses roadie/romantic partner Buddy Jackson (Kyle Chandler) into service at the Shreveport concert by putting him on the stage in Dusty wardrobe and makeup, concealing his true identity through manipulation of stage lighting and the use of a tape with him lip-synching to it. Though the ruse is a success, she is lambasted by Dusty's band at the end of it, telling her that it should have been cancelled. When Lula appears unapologetic for her actions, Earl quits the band and knocks Buddy (who is not well-liked among Dusty's staff) out with a single punch.
Buddy is also an up-and-coming songwriter, with much larger aspirations, and is frequently bugging Lula about getting Dusty to sing his songs and a recording contract of his own. He sees Dusty's absence as a springboard to finally realize his own dreams of becoming a country music superstar, which later surfaces in a final, bitter confrontation with Lula.
Dusty wakes up the next morning in a barn, where he sees Harley brushing a horse next to him. Guessing that he's at the Tucker ranch, he accepts Harley's invitation to breakfast with her family: her brothers J.W. and Tim, and their grandfather Ernest (Rory Calhoun, in his final film appearance). During an uncomfortably silent scene at the breakfast table, Al shows up at the ranch, determined to continue what went on last night.
Harley goes out to confront Al, and when Dusty sees the two arguing, he goes outside to stop it. Confident that he can beat his rival down again, Al takes a swing at Dusty, who ducks and strikes Al's still-broken nose with a solid uppercut. Finally taking the hint, Al leaves.
While Harley and her brothers are busy attending to ranch duties, Dusty gets a moment alone with Ernest, who reveals to him that much of the 1,000-acre (4.0 km²) ranch had to be sold off over the years to pay taxes. With this information, Dusty asks J.W. and Tim for roping lessons. They laugh off the request at first, but when Dusty pulls out a large wad of cash in advance to demonstrate his sincerity, they quickly agree.
As Dusty takes his roping lessons, Lula is working the phones and putting off interviews until Dusty shows up, also hiring a private investigator to track him down. Buddy, assuming that Dusty isn't coming back, makes plans to lip-sync his next show in Las Vegas. Lula learns that Buddy has also been talking to reporters. Buddy also hints to Lula that he could have told the truth about the Shreveport concert, but will stay quiet for a recording contract and $100,000. Lula refuses.
Earl shows up at Grandma Ivy's and tracks Dusty down through subtle hints she drops to him. The P.I. finds him and informs Lula. As Harley and her family are out at the honky-tonk where she and Dusty met, Harley retreats to the restroom, where she's confronted by Lula.
"You like dancin' with my husband?", Lula lies to Harley. With tears streaming down her face, Harley exits the restroom and slaps Dusty across the face. She then storms off with her family, leaving a stunned Dusty behind. Lula pulls up in a car beside him, telling him it's time to come home. As Dusty gets ready for his Vegas show, Buddy reveals the lip-synched concert in Shreveport to a reporter. The interview is aired on the fictitious Country Music Network, with Buddy explaining through a lie that Lula offered him money and a recording contract to pose as Dusty, who has also seen the interview.
Dusty keeps trying to call Harley to straighten things out, but she refuses to accept his calls.
Dusty meets with Lula and his bandmates, telling Lula he'll reschedule the Shreveport concert for free. He also tells her he will no longer tolerate elaborate stage sets and special effects; that his concert will be him and his band up on stage and singing. Reluctantly, Lula agrees. He thanks the band for staying with him despite his unplanned absence, and Earl also rejoins the group.
Lula sets up another staff meeting, this time with Buddy present. Dusty threatens to expose the lie Buddy told about Lula to the media and sue him if he so much as sees his face around country music again. After a disgraced Buddy walks out, Dusty turns to Lula and hints at her that he wants the matter with Harley Tucker made right.
Harley, who has just competed in a Las Vegas barrel race, is staying at a cheap local motel with her family on the outskirts of town. A limo driver knocks on their door with tickets to Dusty's show and information concerning their limo ride to the concert. Harley (who has known Dusty simply as Wyatt all this time and thus no clue as to his real identity) is also given a box containing a sleek black evening dress. They arrive at the concert hall and after being seated next to Grandma Ivy, Harley is escorted backstage to a contrite Lula.
Harley arrives back at her front-row table, but refuses to discuss with her family the nature of why she was called backstage. The concert (as per Dusty's specifications for a more simplistic show) begins with Dusty coming to the edge of the stage, singing "I Cross My Heart" directly to Harley, successfully winning her back. The film ends with the two hugging at the edge of the stage.
[edit] Soundtrack
- See Pure Country
