Primary Colors
1998 Directed by Mike Nichols
Synopsis
What went down on the way to the top.
A man joins the political campaign of a smooth-operator candidate for president of the USA
Popular reviews
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Would you prefer the liar you believe in or the honest man who doesn't give a fuck? What does it take to be a great man in power?
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A complex political comedy about Clinton's bid for the presidency, with names changed to protect the innocent. Since I wasn't paying attention to politics back when Clinton was elected, some of the technical details might take a couple of viewings to sink in, and I don't find Adrian Lester's performance to be very interesting, but the rest of the performances are fantastic.
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Would you prefer the liar you believe in or the honest man who doesn't give a fuck? What does it take to be a great man in power?
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A film with an incredibly talented cast and moments of brilliance, all of which are almost ruined by its ending. A twist of sorts in the final third feels out of place, unrealistic, and ridiculous. Luckily, the rest of the film is quite good.
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That this particular story holds up in 2013, and continues to be replicated in films such as “The Ides of March,” is more indicative of the unchanging shallow dynamics of American politics than it is of any cinematic habit. Armando Iannucci has clearly modelled his scripts on this sort of political satire, the coarse wit of “In the Loop” perhaps the closest rival to the silly campaign trail melodrama of “Primary Colors,” which features an assemblage of actors (from John Travolta to Maura Tierney) you feel have no right to be as compatible as they are together. The biggest success of the film is that it continues to ask questions of its characters when it could just resolve to become…
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John Travolta is fantastic in this.
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Divorced from the roman-a-clef guessing game, the film's merits become more abundantly clear: juicy and/or terrific performances, a wicked smart and nuanced script by Elaine May, and pinpoint direction by Mike Nichols. Enjoyed it more than I ever have.
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Felt both timeless and naive to me. Early notions of purity versus actually accomplishing things still resonates today, but other elements (candidate won't go negative until the other guy will, campaign "dustbuster" being so hung up on doing the right thing) seem there solely to make the morality play aspect work. Acted superbly and flows remarkably well for something so episodic.
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Interesting to me that a movie known for being satirical and bitter about the Clintons and the election process has a lot of optimism in it. It's portrayal of the Hilary stand in shows her as being this amazing, warm woman if also a bit ruthless. And the central thesis of the Bill character seems to be that for all the bullshit one has to do to get him elected "he's worth it." Interesting. It's also frequently very funny and it's always wonderful to see Elaine May writing.
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Are you kidding me? This movie is funny and good.