Stats:

Movie:
Primary Colors

Stars:
John Travolta; Emma Thompson; Kathy Bates; Billy Bob Thornton

Director:
Mike Nichols

Date: 1998

Bottom Line:
Highly Recommend.

"Primary Colors" is a great movie! This is a very funny movie. The movie is based in the book, "Primary Colors", by Anonymous which is supposed to be a fictionalized account of the 1992 Clinton primary campaign.

"Primary Colors" follows Governor Jack Stanton and his wife, Susan as he makes his attempt to run for the presidency during the 1992 primary season. The movie is told largely from the experiences of Henry, a nouveau campaign manager who is the grandson of a famous 1960s Civil Rights worker. He reluctantly joins the Stanton campaign but becomes a 'True Believer' in the Stantons and what they are trying to do for America. He leaves the campaign at the end (or does he?) after a crisis of faith in the morality of the Stantons and the measures they would take to win the presidency.

I thought the movie was extremely, extremely funny. I like the Clintons, and whether or not you like the job Bill is doing as President, you should enjoy the movie. The film does raise some questions, - did that really happen?, who is the person they are referring to?, is this character that person?, etc. Even though the suspense is not really that gripping, "Will Jack/Bill win the Democratic nomination, let alone become President?"; "Primary Colors" paints a very interesting portrait of the Stantons/Clintons. For instance, it appears that possibly Susan/Hillary didn't know that Jack/Bill was sleeping around until the middle of the primaries. At the same time, the extent and breadth of how many extra-curriculars Jack/Bill engaged in is also remarkable particularly after the demise of the Hart Presidential campaign a few years back. Jack/Bill comes off as a very warm person who truly cares about people and if it were at all possible, would probably like to meet every single American individually for at least half an hour so he could really get to know you as a person. Unfortunately, he's not a very organized person and that is where Susan/Hillary comes in. Susan/Hillary is also a very warm and caring person but is definitely the strategist here.

The Stantons/Clintons are trying to make history as well as run a moralistic, clean campaign. That is how they sold their staffs on working on the campaign and that is what the staffers believe about the Stantons/Clintons. There is lot here about campaign dirty tricks and how the Stantons/Clintons are able to diffuse those problems when the campaign is attacked. But the moral crisis for Henry occurs when he and Lizzie (Kathy Bates) are sent to find out why the current opposition candidate originally dropped out the of Presidential race 14 years before. What they find out is devastating for that candidate but they present the information to the Stantons/Clintons anyway. Henry and Lizzie decide they will judge the Stantons/Clintons on how they decide to use the information, - for good or evil. Unfortunately, the Stantons/Clintons flunk the test Lizzie sets out, but even this is not clear cut as a bad choice. The reasons the Stantons/Clintons want to use the information are as valid as the reasons are for not using it. The movie ends shortly after this episode, although we do find out that the Stantons/Clintons win the election since the last scene takes place at the Inaugural Ball.

I think that this movie should raise a lot questions for viewers, but then again, it seems to be designed for that purpose. If you go to see this, make sure you arrange to go somewhere afterward like for coffee since you will find yourself wanting to discuss the movie afterward. I have seen few movies where so much discussion was generated by a film and this is one of those rare occasions. "Primary Colors" is not a black-eye for President Clinton and it is not a rose-colored glasses view of him and the campaign either. "Primary Colors" is a very funny, thought-provoking movie about running for the White House and what life is like in 1990s America.