Search - Primary Colors - DTS on DVD

Savage satire is one of my favorites of 1998

Matthew Horner | USA | 03/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Somebody's not telling the truth about this movie. The studio emphasized that "Primary Colors" was not intentionally based on Bill and Hillary Clinton. The writer of the book it's based on was written by "Anonymous". The real author turned out to be Joe Klien, who works for The New Yorker Magazine. He says the book was, in fact, based on Clinton's first Presidential campaign.John Travolta and Emma Thompson play Jack and Susan Stanton. Jack is Governor of an unnamed Southern State. The couple looks a whole like Bill and Hillary, both in body language and in appearance. When the film came out last Spring, it did fairly good business. It was viewed as a political satire, which it is. In fact, it's one of the best films of its kind in a long time. Some would mention "Wag the Dog" in the same breath as "Primary Colors". The former was certainly a fine movie, but "Colors" is witty, rambunctious, smart and, well, a whole lot like the Clintons!I suppose it has a slightly darker feel to it now, with all the bad press and publicity Mr. Clinton has lately gotten. Before all the disclosures about Clinton's private life, the movie seemed almost innocent. Now it seems prophetic. It's as though "Primary Colors" mutated into a different form. Or could it be that, after the revelations were made about The President, the nation suffered from a case of Mass Denial?The irony is that the character of Jack Stanton is seen as an intelligent, well intentioned man, who has a bit of a problem with his fly. Whatever its parallels with real life, it stands on its own as a good picture. The focus is on John Travolta's character, but Thompson's Susan doesn't get off lightly either. That is because, no matter how much Stanton fools around, the couple is always united in its pursuit of power. This is made clearly evident in two scenes. In the first one, Susan is sobbing and being held by Henry [Adrian Lester], a young and affable political aide. Susan has just found out about another one of Jack's affairs, and she is furious at him and at all who kept it secret from her. The film cuts straight to the second scene, where Susan is shown as all business again, throwing herself into the campaign. This sudden shift in her moods is done on purpose to underline how nothing in this world will alter her mission.Mike Nichols is in top directing form. He really hasn't done as many movies as people might think. He's just done some of the most famous, such as "The Birdcage", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "The Graduate".Travolta and Thompson are so good that they are almost spooky. Emma Thompson is one of the great actresses of our times. While nobody paid much attention to him for many years, I think many are coming to realize that Travolta is one of our great actors. As Richard, a brilliant but insane political ally, Billy Bob Thornton shines again. It never ceases to amaze me how much Thornton's physical appearance can change from role to role. For the record, he was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Kathy Bates threatens to steal the show at times in her dynamic turn as a political aide Stanton hires. She been in an asylum for the last fifteen years!The script by Elaine May has some of the best dialog of any film released in this decade.
For example, Stanton checks into his motel at some campaign stop. He looks around and say, "What? No cable TV? What the [blank] were you thinking. of? You can't run for President of the Untied States without [blank] CNN!".Mike Nichols and Elaine May were, many years ago, the top standup comedy team of their time. It's wonderful to see them reunited in this way - he directing, she writing. Still a team!"