Pure Country is a 1992 American drama movie directed by Christopher Cain and featuring George Strait in his acting debut, with Lesley Ann Warren, Isabel Glasser, and Kyle Chandler (in his film debut). The film, while profitable with box office receipts of more than $15 million against a $10 million budget plan, missed the mark regarding its expectations. Nonetheless, the soundtrack was a critical success and, until now, is Strait’s best-selling album. It was followed by two direct-to-video sequels, Pure Country 2: The Gift (2010) and Pure Country: Pure Heart (2017). This film marked Rory Calhoun’s last film appearance. The film got negative reviews upon its release, however, critics responded positively to specific parts of the film. It has a score of 41% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 22 reviews, with a typical rating of 4.7 out of 10.
On the TV program Siskel and Ebert in 1992, film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert both gave the film a “Two thumbs down” rating, however, their reviews were more mixed than negative. Both praised George Strait’s performance, feeling that he was a convincing actor in the lead, particularly considering the difficulties of a singer turning into an actor, and they both enjoyed Isabel Glasser’s performance however felt the film was subverted by a corny story and no moments for satire which would have made the film better. Film critics Leonard Maltin, in his yearly Movie and Video Guide, likewise gave the film a mainly negative but somewhat mixed review, giving it two stars out of four and saying: “This Strait showcase is, for the most part, unadulterated monotony, however, the film picks up in hour two with the presence of Glasser, and Rory Calhoun as her dad”.
Pure Country Filming Location
Pure Country was shoot in 1991 all through Texas, however generally in Maypearl. The graveyard scene was filmed at Cresson Cemetery in Cresson, Texas, and the concert sequences were shot at concert venues in Fort Worth, including North Side Coliseum and Will Rogers Coliseum. The bar scenes where Dusty meets Harley were shot at Western Kountry Klub, situated among Midlothian and Mansfield Tx.
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- Western Kountry Klub, 5728 Lakeview Rd., Midlothian, Texas, USA: (Prairie Rose Dance Hall)
- Maypearl, Texas, USA
- FortWorth, Texas, USA
- Terrell, Texas, USA
- Mirage Hotel and Casino – 3400 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- Texas Stadium – 2401 E. Air terminal Freeway, Irving, Texas, USA
Things you probably didn’t know about the movie Pure Country
- Strait didn’t like the title of the movie and wanted that it should be changed. However, we can’t imagine what else it could be called. Strait was bound and determined to get the studio to change the movie’s name since he felt it wasn’t about “country” themes. Be that as it may, the studio didn’t budge, and the name remained the same. The soundtrack to the film is Strait’s top-rated album with over 6,000,000 copies sold. It even beats out his hits collection from the ’80s and the hits-loaded 1987 album “Ocean Front Property”.
- Straits child, George “Bubba” Strait Jr. played his role in Pure Country, however, you never see him on screen. He was only a kid at that point, yet he had a significant part in the opening of the movie. The voice of the little boy in the opening song is that of George Strait’s child, George “Bubba’ Strait Jr. He’s currently a co-writing partner with his father on some recent Strait albums.
- “The King of Broken Hearts” is one of the most recognizable songs from the movie, yet did you know it wasn’t intended for it. That’s what turns out “The King of Broken Hearts” was initially composed as a tribute to George Jones. However, the director loved the song a lot so he chose to place it in Pure Country.
- Many fans can’t help thinking about why Strait’s character didn’t kiss the Harley character after singing for her toward the end of the movie. He envelops her with an embrace instead, which left some viewers puzzled. However, there’s a significant reason behind why Strait didn’t kiss his co-star. Strait has been happily married to his high school darling, Norma, since 1971. On account of his dedication to Norma, Strait would not kiss his co-star in the film.