Themes: On the Campaign Trail, Blackmail, Infidelity
Main Cast: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Adrian Lester
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 143 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Mike Nichols directed this Elaine May screenplay adapted from the 1996 bestseller by "Anonymous" (Joe Klein), who fictionalized Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. In the New Hampshire primary, Governor Jack Stanton (John Travolta) convinces Henry Burton (Adrian Lester), grandson of a respected civil rights pioneer, to become his deputy campaign manager. Stanton's smart wife Susan (Emma Thompson) always comes through with public support for her philandering husband. The film's parallel for James Carville is Stanton's redneck advisor Richard Jemmons (Billy Bob Thornton), who knows every strategy and tactic but worries, "The woman thing, that's the killer." Sure enough, problems during the New Hampshire primary include charges of adultery. To get a handle on past peccadillos, Stanton's staff brings in an old family friend, lesbian Libby Holden (Kathy Bates), who knows how to clean up dirt. Stanton, a strong debater, moves on to Florida and New York. When one opposing candidate drops dead of a heart attack, he's replaced by Florida's Governor Fred Picker (Larry Hagman), but Holden holds the skeleton key to the skeleton in Picker's closet. Just how the Stantons put this information to use reveals whether they are ruthless politicians or inspirational leaders with ideals. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Review
Arriving in theaters shortly after the Monica Lewinsky scandal shed new behind-the-scenes light on the Bill Clinton presidency, Primary Colors was perhaps too much a film of its moment. Adapting Joe Klein's roman à clef about the 1992 presidential campaign, director Mike Nichols asserted that the story of a young campaign strategist's eye-opening experience on Southern governor Jack Stanton's White House run was more about general issues of personal and political honor than specific events. John Travolta's honeyed Arkansas drawl, graying hair and affection for donuts, however, left no doubt about Stanton's Clintonian roots; one or two journalists even questioned whether Clinton had tried to influence the film's content. Either way, critics agreed that while Nichols and long-time collaborator Elaine May mined sardonic humor out of the Stanton campaign's sexual shenanigans and dirty dealings, the final turn toward a serious message about the contemporary political process somewhat tempered the film's satiric bite. Despite enormous (and unexpected) publicity from the Lewinsky affair, and pitch-perfect performances from Travolta, Emma Thompson, Oscar nominee Kathy Bates, Billy Bob Thornton, Adrian Lester, and Larry Hagman, Primary Colors failed to find a large audience, suggesting that one presidential media spectacle at a time was probably enough. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Thomas A. Duffield - Art Director, Michael Haley - Associate Producer, Juel Bestrop - Casting, Juliet Taylor - Casting, Ellen Lewis - Casting, Michele Imperato - Co-producer, Gary Jones - Costume Designer, Ann Roth - Costume Designer, Michael Haley - First Assistant Director, Mike Nichols - Director, Liz Radley - Second Unit Director, Arthur Schmidt - Editor, Jonathan D. Krane - Executive Producer, Neil Machlis - Executive Producer, Ry Cooder - Composer (Music Score), Robert W. Welch III - Production Designer, Michael Ballhaus - Cinematographer, Mike Nichols - Producer, Cheryl Carasik - Set Designer, Sean Haworth - Set Designer, Chris Newman - Sound/Sound Designer, Elaine May - Screenwriter, Joe Klein - Book Author
Jack Stanton (John Travolta), is the charismatic governor of a Southern state, who decides to run for President of the United States. The film follows Stanton's bumbling, philandering and yet charismatic rise to the top of American politics. Both the book and the movie are meant to be about then President Bill Clinton's life before the White House.
