Talk about a case of both good and bad timing. With all of the recent attention paid to allegations of sexual misconduct in the White House, the executives at Universal Pictures are either giddy with anticipation or nervous with doubt about their latest release, "Primary Colors." What's certain is that audiences will definitely find comparisons between the "fictitious" characters in this movie and the real-life "dramatists" currently inhabiting 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
What's uncertain is whether moviegoers will flock to this film because they can't get enough of the current scandals, or that they'll stay clear from it because they've had enough of such stories that currently permeate the press. You can bet, though, that those executives (and maybe the Chief Executive himself) won't get much sleep until a few days after the movie opens.
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name that was written by Anonymous, a.k.a. Joe Klein, a former Newsweek columnist, the story is supposedly a fictitious tale surrounding the 1992 presidential primaries and campaign. While Klein and the filmmakers can deny that this film is mean to portray the Clintons, audiences will certainly beg to differ. Of course much of that has to do with the current sexual allegations that mirror those in the film (as well as Vietnam draft dodging, etc...), but the fact that the candidate here looks, acts, and sounds like Clinton (likewise for the candidate's wife and the current First Lady) will definitely make many moviegoers believe this is a direct examination of the current Presidency.
Much of that obviously has to do with lucky/unlucky coincidences, and to be honest, the film focuses more on the Presidency and politics as an institution, than on any one individual man. That's easy to see since Henry, the young campaigner, is the story's main character. He's meant to represent untainted idealism, a belief that there might be a perfect candidate out there who will strive to make the country -- and world -- a better place. Unfortunately, Henry finds that such notions often come bundled with a less than perfect human being, and he learns that the political machine has no room for ideals.
Portraying Henry is British actor Adrian Lester who makes his American film debut with this picture. Oscar winning director Mike Nichols ("The Graduate," "The Birdcage") has stated that he purposefully cast a relatively unknown actor in the role and the effect of the "green" man in politics works quite well. Lester does a good job of playing the enthusiastic novice, and his hopes, doubts, and disbeliefs seem quite natural and certainly believable.
That goes for the rest of the impressive cast as well, as many noted Oscar winning and nominated performers inhabit the film's many characters and certainly make the experience easy on the eye.
Much of the attention will obviously focus on John Travolta as the President, and he does a fabulous job portraying Clinton, er -- the Chief Executive. Sporting a stylish, salt and peppery haircut, a penchant for donuts and a raspy southern accent, there's no doubt that they fashioned Stanton after the current president. The audience howled in delight when first spotting and hearing Travolta, and while the accent waned at times, Travolta is quite believable as a man with lofty notions that are nearly undermined by a ravenous libido and even worse, but clearly related allegations.
Likewise, it's not hard to see that they fashioned Susan Stanton after Hillary Clinton. Perfectly played by Oscar winner Emma Thompson, this is a woman who is torn between her idealistic love for her husband and his future potential, and the hatred for his adulterous behavior that may just ruin her belief in him. One particular scene shows Mrs. Stanton "standing" by her man during an interview discussing the sexual allegations (sound familiar?), but once the camera's red tally light goes dim, she forcefully throws his hand -- that she so lovingly held during the interview -- aside as if she couldn't stand another moment of touching him.
The supporting cast is very strong as well with Billy Bob Thornton playing a hilariously fashioned political strategist and self-proclaimed redneck. After being confronted by Henry (who's black) about being a redneck, Thornton's character responds by saying, "I'm blacker than you are. I've got some slave in me. I can feel it." In another scene, he gingerly tries to explain Stanton's sexual allegation problems to Susan by using some hilarious metaphors in a very funny scene.
Equally as good, and perhaps giving the strongest performance, is Kathy Bates as the "dust buster" who's continually called upon to solve her old friends' problems. Openly gay and not afraid to speak her mind or act in any manner necessary to get what she wants (she tells Stanton, "I wish we castrated you when we had the chance"), Libby is fun to watch and Bates delivers a performance that may earn her some award nominations down the road (as long as the movie is remembered -- it's still early in the year). Other good bits come in the smaller roles from the likes of Robert Klein, Rob Reiner and Tony Shaloub (from TV's "Wings" and the little seen but fabulous "Big Night").
The movie itself is too long. The second half, when everything predictably begins to fall apart and the future of Stanton's candidacy looks questionable, feels very long. It also suffers from getting a bit preachy about what's right and wrong in politics, and could have used some of the humor -- that made the first half so much fun to watch -- to soften the "sermon."
In fact, it's in that first half that Nichols and screenwriter Elaine May (who collaborated on "The Birdcage") seemingly satirize the current presidency with scenes of the candidate coming out of a bedroom with a school teacher amidst all of his team players, or the many shots of Stanton enthusiastically eating fried chicken, ribs, donuts, or other edible products. An especially funny one is seeing Travolta -- a great dancer -- as the governor who's trying to dance and doesn't care how ridiculous he looks. The audience gets the most kicks from such scenes, but all of that dries up in the second half.
Another problem is that there are just a few too many superfluous characters that diffuse one's attention from the main players. Many of them come and go as the story progresses and that makes the film feel that it's occasionally getting a bit unwieldy. For instance, one candidate drops out for health reasons (a glimpse of Paul Tsongas, perhaps) and is replaced by another ("Dallas'" Larry Hagman) and the story often loses its momentum -- particularly toward the end -- as it makes its way up to the soapbox to preach its point about the evils in politics.
Even so, the film is easy to watch, features some great impersonations -- I mean performances -- and has enough humor and thought-provoking moments to appease most viewers in the audience. It will obviously play well inside the Washington, D.C. beltway, but it's anyone's guess about how middle America will react. While it's not a great film, it's pretty good and the performances make it worth seeing. We give "Primary Colors" a 7 out of 10.