Pure Country 2: The Gift

Writer-director Christopher Cain took 18 years to make this follow-up to the 1992 George Strait vehicle Pure Country, but while the music is listenable, the plot surrounding the songs is pure corn—a rags-to-riches-to-rags story. Orphan Bobbie Thomas (Katrina Elam) is born with a special talent—a fantastic singing voice—given to her by a bumptious trio of angels (Michael McKean, Cheech Marin, and Bronson Pinchot). But as Aunt Ella (Jackie Welch)—the wise black woman who raises Bobbie—says, such a gift carries with it a responsibility to live a good life: don't lie, be fair, and never break a promise. When Bobbie goes to Nashville to pursue her dream of becoming a country music star, she falls in with a sleazy promoter who lands her a space on Strait's tour but coaxes her to break the three golden rules her auntie laid down for her. To the accompaniment of terrible thunder, Bobbie loses her voice and finds her career finished even before it's begun. Happily, however, she discovers romance with a handsome cowboy who's an all-around great guy. Elam has a solid singing voice, but as an actress she's strictly a novice, and even the veterans here come off poorly. Pure Country 2 is warmhearted; unfortunately, it's also softheaded. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)