Primary Colors (1998)

Bill Clinton was a mixed bag as a president, on one hand, he did sign into law, welfare reform, and the 1994 federal crime bill after the GOP took over both houses of congress in 1994.On the other hand, Bill Clinton became the second president in US history to be impeached by the US House of Representatives for lying under oath to a federal grand jury and for obstruction of justice. he also lost his Arkansas law license, and has to pay a large fine for sexually harassing Paula Jones.He is also accused of raping several women while governor of Arkansas.Primary Colors, which was released during the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal in 1998, highlights and parodies Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House. Bill Clinton can connect with working people, who were suffering under the 1992 recession. but pulls a lot of unethical tricks and stabs people in the back to win the White House. He completely backstabs his opponents with no regard for their wellbeing whatsoeverPrimary Colors shows how curthroat the world of politics really is and it's definitely a highly recommended film and a piece of history as well.

Sadly enough sins of the flesh have been used to bring down rising political figures since the dawn of time. 10 years ago my local Assemblyman was caught having an affair with an intern and faced a primary over it. Since in my opinion he did a good job in representing me and what I want quite frankly he could have had affairs on the state capital steps with 100 interns. I just don't care about these things. Still sadly enough people do and we've seen in fiction Charles Foster Kane brought down by his affair with Susan Alexander and in real life Charles Parnell in Ireland by his affair with Kitty O'Shea.In a portrayal so obviously based on the Clintons they ought to sue, John Travolta and Emma Thompson play a southern governor and his Yankee born wife who is running for president. As Henry Kissinger said "power is the ultimate aphrodisiac and the groupies do buzz around Travolta, more than he can handle.And because of that he's got this trail of women who are ready to exploit his new found celebrity as a presidential candidate. His presidential bid just might get derailed before he's out of the station.All this is seen through the eyes of Adrian Lester whose granddad was a noted civil right activist who is considering signing on. He watches how Travolta deals with the various accusations, how his best defense is a good offense.It saddens me that we lose a lot of potentially good public officials through these sins of the flesh. I've always hated politicians who having nothing else to offer make someone else's so called moral failings their main issue. We'll all be better off once as a society we're past that. Ironically the last presidential election may have been a game changer for the wrong reasons.Primary Colors got two Oscar nominations, for best adapted screenplay based on Joe Klein's novel and Best Supporting Actress for Kathy Bates. Bates is a tough political infighter, but loyal to Travolta/Thompson having history going all the way back to the Vietnam war protests. She dominates when she's on screen and her very loyalty carries the seeds of self destruction.Current Oscar contender Alison Janney has a really great part as a school administrator who has a drinking problem and misses no opportunity to put her issue across with Travolta. She's at the beginning of the film, but you remember her throughout.Primary Colors, another in the pantheon of great political films.

"John Travolta leads an all-star cast (including Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates, and Billy Bob Thornton) on a wild race to the presidency in this savagely funny comedy. Jack Stanton (Travolta) is a virtually unknown Southern governor on a quest for the White House with his strong, savvy, and equally ambitious wife, Susan (Thompson). Running against the odds, the Stantons need all the help they can get from their extremely colorful political team. Together, they take off on a hilarious, heart-wrenching, and ultimately history-making roller coaster ride to the top," according to the DVD sleeve description.Mike Nichols and Elaine May do a marvelous job in turning writer Joe Klein's once controversial pages into a motion picture. "Primary Colors" is a satirically fictionalized account of U.S. President Bill Clinton's 1992 primary campaign. Mr. Klein originally published his story as "Anonymous", which made Washington tongues wag for months. The story deals frankly with several of its characters' non-marital sexual relations. Ultimately, the story did not damage the reputations of Bill and Hillary Clinton; it does not accurately convey their love or intellect, but nicely illustrates Mr. Clinton's empathy.Travolta makes a particularly fine impression as the thinly-disguised Commander-in-Chief. Playing the team's "George Stephanopoulos", idealistic Adrian Lester (as Henry Burton) quietly emerges as Travolta's co-star. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent. Putting "Betsey Wright"-like Kathy Bates (as Libby Holden) in charge of "bimbo eruptions" was an inspiration; she was born to duet with Olivia Newton-John on "Please Mr. Please", and won several "Best Supporting Actress" honors. Nichols makes every small role count (immediately obvious with Allison Janney and Mykelti Williamson).******** Primary Colors (3/20/98) Mike Nichols ~ John Travolta, Adrian Lester, Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates

Spoiler alert: this movie is waaaaaay baaaad! I wonder at what point Mike Nichols realized he was directing a bomb? An outstanding director and a star-studded cast: how could anything go wrong? My reaction to this dreck was the same as after viewing "Bonfire of the Vanities": $8 and two hours of my life I will never get back! Mis-cast, badly acted and badly directed. Kathy Bates and Adrian Lester provided the only redeeming performances. Is this film to Mike Nichols what "Ishtar" is to Elaine May (his former comedy partner, who, by the way, wrote the screenplay for this turkey)? When I heard people talking about going to see this film, my response was: "It's about the Clintons. Save your money. Don't go. It's really bad." I remember all the buzz about the book and the big mystery surrounding the "Anonymous" author (Joe Klein of Newsweek). I should know by now that movies rarely live up to the stories: again, "Bonfire of the Vanities" is a prime example. Tom Wolfe's book was great but that movie was as bad as "Primary Colors" and in many ways even more mis-cast. I never read the book "Primary Colors" and after sitting through the movie, I did not want to read the book. I lay the blame for this turkey entirely at the feet of Mike Nichols.