Meanwhile, Dusty goes to a night club, where he meets the young rancher Harley, the other principal character(played by Isabel Glasser). Harley's boyfriend gets jealous upon seeing her with another guy, and a fight starts. After breaking his rival's nose, Dusty is knocked out in the parking lot and wakes up the next morning. He accepts Harley's offer of breakfast and later finds himself taking roping lessons. Before too long, with the help of Harley and her brothers, he becomes a good roper, and it turns out that his skills are needed. Harley's dad, Ernest(Rory Calhoun), is in danger of losing the ranch, and he is depending on Harley's winning her event at a big rodeo in Las Vegas to stay afloat.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but it turns out to be a fairy tale in which things eventually work out well for everyone. Harley wins at the rodeo, saving her ranch. Dusty comes back, patches things up with everybody(except Buddy, whom he gets rid of after learning how much publicity Buddy's lip-synching act has gotten) and puts on a great show in Vegas--minus the ponytail, beard and fancy costume. Lula at long last gives Dusty an emotional apology. And despite Lula's efforts to break up his romance, Dusty gets his girl(Harley) in the end.

Though George is the movie's star, Lesley Ann Warren, in my opinion, steals the show as the crafty Lula. Lula professes to be concerned about Dusty and his band members, but everything she does(using Buddy as a stand-in, hiring a private detective, and following Dusty) shows me that she's really in it for the money. It is only after watching Buddy's TV interview and seeing Harley, who turns out to be Dusty's true love, that Lula breaks down. We're not told much about Dusty and Lula's non-business relationship, although those who saw the movie(including myself) will see, from the barroom photo Dusty looks at, that she played in his band before he got popular and that she was his old girlfriend. John Doe's character, Earl, also plays an important role, though it's a minor one. He reminisces with Dusty about the old days(when they went to the carnival and watched the "dancing chicken"). He defends Dusty against Lula's accusations that he(Dusty) walked out, and, being the loyal friend that he is, he walks out himself and follows Dusty to Harley's ranch.

Director Chris Cain and writer Rex McGee did a very good job on this film. Their failure to develop Dusty and Lula's relationship further is the only flaw in an otherwise fine movie. The acting, though there aren't many well-known actors, is first-rate, and George sings a lot of great tunes, including the hit "I Cross My Heart", on an awesome soundtrack. I think, too, that George, who had never acted before except in TV commercials, does a very convincing job as Dusty. I became a George Strait fan after watching this movie. I think that even those who aren't music fans will like it. It's a great portrayal of country music, and it also is a good slice-of-life movie.