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Editorial Review:
Based on the novel by Anonymous (a.k.a. political reporter Joe Klein) and released when the Monica Lewinsky scandal was in full swing, Primary Colors may have been a case of too much, too soon for many moviegoers, who preferred the real-life Clinton crisis over the movie's thinly disguised "Clintonesque" comedy. The general public felt that the film was exploiting the president's indiscretions, and as a result one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 1998 was a box-office disappointment. But when considered apart from the Clinton scandals and judged on its own considerable merits, this superb comedy-drama provides an illuminating, insightful, and frequently hilarious look at the harsh realities of presidential politics. John Travolta stars as Jack Stanton, a presidential hopeful whose campaign is challenged by dual dilemmas: how to squelch a scandal involving the candidate's alleged sex with an underage girl, and how to handle information that could potentially ruin Stanton's opponent (superbly played by Larry Hagman). Stanton's wife (Emma Thompson) stands by her man despite awareness of his infidelities, but his loyal campaign planners (played by Billy Bob Thornton, Maura Tierney, and promising newcomer Adrian Lester) experience a crisis of conscience. So does one of the Stantons' oldest friends (Kathy Bates, in an Oscar-nominated role), whose sense of betrayal and lost idealism proves too much to bear. Masterfully adapted by director Mike Nichols and his former-comedy-partner-turned-screenwriter, Elaine May, Primary Colors plays like a sophisticated comedy with loads of memorable scenes and dialogue, but it sneaks up on you with devastating dramatic impact. Anchored by Travolta's superb performance (which is reminiscent of Clinton without being a cheap impersonation), the movie presents a story of great moral complexity and leaves viewers to contemplate their own reactions to the volatile and ethically complicated game of modern politics. --Jeff Shannon

Primary Colors [Region 2] Reviews:
A Lasting Surprise
2009-03-27 - Jazz De Cou
Le Vésinet, France

When "Primary Colors" first came out I initially had no intention of seeing it, despite my
interest in the subject because I had classified John Travolta as a non-actor. But a friend
who had seen the film and was disturbed by it, asked if I thought the film reflected reali-
ties. The question disturbed me because I could not imagine why he asked it. So I went
to the film, expecting a turkey. I thought the casting director must have been a very close
friend of the actors chosen.

Well, not too many seconds after the film began, my pulse began to flutter. This was just not
a film like any others I had ever seen. The film made real for me all sorts of facts that had simply
been abstractions when I encountered them in textbooks or was exposed to them in
the media. I was watching reality like a voyeur looking through a keyhole. I felt some embarrassment,
but I continued watching. I was hypnotized.

Now, how then did I react to John Travolta? Well, I was aghast with astonishment! What an extraordinary
performance! I honestly cannot imagine how anyone could have played the part better.

I haven't made a list lately of my all-time favorite films lately, but when I do "Primary Colors"
will among those at the very near the top.

Jazz De Cou

Remake, anyone?
2009-01-01 - It would be wonderful truly, if someone as courageous as Joe Klein would write a roman à clef (novel with a key,"i.e., describing real life), about the façade of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Whether or not they do, however, Mike Nichols' movie is an awesome portrayal of the Bill and Hillary Clinton façade in their first, 1992 campaign for the White House, complete with a suicide due to their dastardly betrayals of the public trust.

Hard to believe John Travolta, famed for his role in 1977's hit movie, Saturday Night Fever, could so masterfully play a slick and slimy politician. At least it proves that Hollywood is not all typecasting. Some presumed has-beens actually can act.

Then again, Travolta also has an amazing supporting cast--with Emma Thompson as Mrs. Stanton (i.e., Hillary, soon-to-be Secretary of State), and Kathy Bates (a standout in Frankie and Johnie in the Claire de la Lune) as the Stantons' demoralized campaign stalwart.

The film is tremendous, albeit not terribly complimentary of the U.S. political system. And I say that knowing that the U.S. remains the best country in the world.

---Alyssa A. Lappen

Travolta and Thompson are Superb,along with everyone else
2008-11-21 - John Travolta and Emma Thompson were superb in "Primary Colors."I especially love Kathy Bates part.
Along with most of the reviewers,I would like to know if most of the movie is fact or fiction.
If its true,Man,what an adventure it was for Bill Clinton's team to get him in the White House.
If you love politics like I do,you will really enjoy this film.

I'm going to tell you something really outrageous. I'm going to tell you the truth
2008-10-02 - Based on a novel by Anonymous (later revealed to be Joe Klein, New York and Washington D.C. journalist and columnist), Primary Colors is roman à clef portraying Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign up to the Primary. It is both flattering and unflattering--from the minute you first hear John Travolta as Governor Jack Stanton, you know he is supposed to be Bill Clinton. He has the voice down, and as the movie goes on, you see that he has the man and all his mannerisms down pat. Though Klein shows Stanton to be a man of tremendous powers of persuasion, he also has numerous flaws and failings. Travolta did a tremendous job capturing both aspects of Clinton. It is a fictionalized story, so not all the events that transpire are to be taken as literal truth. Still, even if Bill Clinton never did some of the exact things depicted, the intent was clearly to point out the larger truth. I have heard a definition of fiction in literature that it is a form of lying that tells the truth. What is the truth? If Primary Colors couldn't really answer that, it at least posed the question in an interesting way.

-----------------------
Gov. Jack Stanton: I'm going to tell you something really outrageous. I'm going to tell you the truth.
=======================

One wonders how Bill Clinton himself felt about the film. Interestingly enough, Clinton was a huge fan of the film and threw a party and invited Travolta to attend on one condition: that he be in character as Governor Jack Stanton. Travolta declined the invitation. On a side note, Tom Hanks was offered the part of Governor Stanton but had to recuse himself due to a personal and friendly relationship with Bill Clinton.

Travolta is the rare actor with enough stage presence and charisma to portray a born politician like Bill Clinton (or since this is a roman à clef, Jack Stanton). Lots of actors working today could probably mimic the Clinton voice, but he managed to capture onscreen the way that Clinton/Stanton seduced and bonded with people. The opening scene is brilliant; with Henry analyzing the way Gov. Stanton shakes hands, touching them each in a different way, instinctively knowing what would have the most impact. Though Gov. Stanton sometimes invented anecdotes about his Uncle Charlie that were not entirely true, he did it to connect with people, to 'feel their pain,' to make them feel better, like he 'really got them'. Travolta was able to show Stanton using that empathy as the main weapon in his political arsenal.

-----------------------
Jack Stanton: We can do incredible things. We can change this country. I'm gonna win this thing. Look me in the eye, Henry, and tell me that you don't want to be a part of it.
=======================

The story is told through the eyes of Henry Burton (Adrian Lester), a Black idealistic campaign worker who is tired of working for nice guys who finish last. Governor Stanton works his magic charm on him until he reluctantly agrees to work for him. This character, as I understand it, was supposed to represent George Stephanopoulos. Just as Nick Carraway judges Jay Gatsby, or Joshua judges Ruth, Henry is supposed to be judging Stanton; but though he ultimately quits the campaign, his final decree is ambiguous. Was Governor Stanton truly committed to win the election so he could do what was right for America, or was he just a sleazy politician--a glorified used car salesman? I guess to really find out what Joe Klein thought of Clinton you'll have to read 'The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton.'

----------------------
[Watching the final scene of "Shane" on television]
Henry Burton: Come back, Shane! Run for president!
======================

Adrian Lester does a capable job in his role as Henry. He looked familiar, and I thought he was the guy you saw on 'West Wing' but I had really seen him on "Girlfriends," a show about 4 Black women who are friends in Los Angeles. He played Elliot, an actor who was dating Joan, a lawyer. Though he wasn't on 'West Wing' (that would be Dulé Hill) there was another actor in this who WAS on 'West Wing.' In fact, Aaron Sorkin saw her in Primary Colors and decided to cast Allison Janney as Press Secretary Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg in 'West Wing'. Here in Primary Colors land she plays a teacher who succumbs to the charms of the dashing/sleazy Governor Stanton.

Primary Colors also features a performance by Billy Bob Thornton as a James Carvillesque character, Emma Thompson in an uncanny portrayal of Hillary Clinton/Susan Stanton, and Kathy Bates as an over-the-top/larger-than-life political operative called Libby Holden. I don't know who in the Clinton camp she is supposed to be--a composite character, no doubt--but she charges onto the scene, struts and frets her hour on the stage, and nearly manages to steal the whole darn show.

---------------
Libby Holden: From now on you can call me the "Dust Buster." I'm stronger than dirt.
===============

Honorable Mention goes to Larry Hagman as Governor Fred Picker, a wild card candidate who threatens to derail Team Stanton's Primary objectives.

------------------------
Susan Stanton: Isn't that the thing experience teaches you? Not to get burned?
Henry Burton: Does anyone ever learn that?
Susan Stanton: Not the best people.
========================


Joe Klein, Author ... Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics (1996)
The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton (2003)

John Travolta ... Governor Jack Stanton
Battlefield Earth - A Saga of the Year 3000 (2000) .... Terl
Face/Off (1997) .... Sean Archer / Castor Troy
Pulp Fiction (1994) .... Vincent Vega
Blow Out (1981) .... Jack Terry
Saturday Night Fever (1977) .... Tony Manero
"Welcome Back, Kotter" .... Vinnie Barbarino (66 episodes, 1975-1979)

Emma Thompson ... Susan Stanton
Love Actually (2003) .... Karen
Sense and Sensibility (1995) .... Elinor Dashwood
In the Name of the Father (1993) .... Gareth Peirce
The Remains of the Day (Special Edition) (1993) .... Mary Kenton
Much Ado About Nothing (1993) .... Beatrice
Howards End (1992) .... Margaret J. 'Meg' Schlegel


Billy Bob Thornton ... Richard Jemmons
Bad Santa (2003) .... Willie
Love Actually (2003) .... The US President
Intolerable Cruelty (2003) .... Howard D. Doyle
Monster's Ball (2001) .... Hank Grotowski
Sling Blade (1996) .... Karl Childers
Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (1991) .... Tommy


Kathy Bates ... Libby Holden
About Schmidt (2002) .... Roberta Hertzel
The Waterboy (1998) .... Helen 'Mama' Boucher
Titanic (1997) .... Molly Brown
Diabolique (1996) .... Det. Shirley Vogel
Fried Green Tomatoes (Widescreen Collector's Edition) (1991) .... Evelyn Couch
Misery (1990) .... Annie Wilkes

Adrian Lester ... Henry Burton
"Girlfriends" .... Ellis Carter (8 episodes, 2002-2003)

Maura Tierney ... Daisy Green
"ER" .... Nurse Abby Lockhart / ... (187 episodes, 1999-2008)
"NewsRadio" .... Lisa Miller (97 episodes, 1995-1999)

Larry Hagman ... Gov. Fred Picker
Nixon - The Election Year Edition (1995) .... 'Jack Jones'
"Dallas" .... John Ross 'J.R.' Ewing, Jr. (357 episodes, 1978-1991)
"Knots Landing" .... J.R. Ewing (5 episodes, 1980-1982)
S.O.B. (1981) .... Dick Benson
Fail-Safe (1964) .... Buck
"I Dream of Jeannie" .... Major Anthony Nelson / ... (139 episodes, 1965-1970)

Diane Ladd ... Mamma Stanton
Inland Empire (2006) .... Marilyn Levens
The World's Fastest Indian (2005) .... Ada
Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) .... Grandma Caroline Moore
Citizen Ruth (1996) (uncredited) .... Ruth's Mother
Wild At Heart (1990) .... Marietta Fortune
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) .... Flo
Chinatown (1974) .... Ida Sessions

Rob Reiner ... Izzy Rosenblatt
The First Wives Club (1996) .... Dr. Morris Packman
For Better or Worse (1995) .... Dr. Plosner
Bye Bye Love (1995) .... Dr. David Townsend
Mixed Nuts (1994) .... Dr. Marshall Kinsky
Bullets Over Broadway (1994) .... Sheldon Flender
Sleepless in Seattle (1993) .... Jay
Misery (1990) (uncredited) .... Helicopter Pilot
The Spirit of '76 (1990) .... Dr. Cash
Postcards from the Edge (1990) .... Joe Pierce
Throw Momma from the Train (1987) .... Joel
This Is Spinal Tap (1984) .... Marty DiBergi
The Jerk (1979) (uncredited) .... Truck Driver Picking Up Navin
"All in the Family" .... Michael 'Meathead' Stivic / ... (172 episodes, 1971-1978)
Enter Laughing (1967) .... Clark Baxter
The Big Mouth (1967) (uncredited) .... Bit part
"The Andy Griffith Show" .... Joe, the Printer's Apprentice (1 episode, 1967)
"Hey, Landlord" .... Big Guy / ... (3 episodes, 1966-1967)
"Batman" .... Delivery Boy (1 episode, 1967)
"77 Sunset Strip" .... Son (1 episode, 1959)

Allison Janney ... Miss Walsh
Juno (2007) .... Bren MacGuff
Hairspray (2007) .... Prudy Pingleton
"Two and a Half Men" .... Beverly (1 episode, 2007)
"The West Wing" .... Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg (155 episodes, 1999-2006)
The Chumscrubber (2005) .... Allie Stiffle
... aka Glück in kleinen Dosen (Germany)
American Beauty (1999) .... Barbara Fitts
Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) .... Loretta
... aka Gnadenlos schön (Germany)
10 Things I Hate About You (1999) .... Ms. Perky
"LateLine" .... Helen Marschant (1 episode, 1999)
Celebrity (1998) .... Evelyn Isaacs
Julian Po (1997) .... Lilah Leech
The Ice Storm (1997) .... Dot Halford
Private Parts (1997) .... Dee Dee
... aka Howard Stern's Private Parts
Anita Liberty (1997) .... Gynecologist
The Associate (1996) .... Sandy

James Denton ... Mitch (as Jamie Denton)
"Desperate Housewives" .... Mike Delfino (88 episodes, 2004-2008)

Mike Nichols ... Director
Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
Closer (2004/I)
What Planet Are You From? (2000)
Primary Colors (1998)
The Birdcage (1996)
Wolf (1994)
Regarding Henry (1991)
Postcards from the Edge (1990)
Working Girl (1988)
Biloxi Blues (1988)
Heartburn (1986)
Silkwood (1983)
Gilda Live (1980)
The Fortune (1975)
The Day of the Dolphin (1973)
Carnal Knowledge (1971)
Catch-22 (1970)
Teach Me! (1968)
The Graduate (1967)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

--------------------
Susan Stanton: The only shot we have here is to be perfect.
====================


Smashing movie!
2008-09-29 - This was a great movie; I bought it as a gift for someone who wanted to see John Travolta doing President Clinton & my friend enjoyed it too.