(Biloxi Blues, The Birdcage, The Graduate, Regarding Henry, Wolf)
Producers:
Mike Nichols
Screenplay:
Elaine May (based on the novel by Joe Klein)
Original Score :
Ry Cooder
Cast :
Gov. Jack Stanton: John Travolta (Broken Arrow, Carrie, Face/Off, Get Shorty, Grease, Look Who's Talking Trilogy, Michael, Phenomenon, Pulp Fiction, White Man's Burden)
Susan Stanton: Emma Thompson (Carrington, Dead Again, Henry V, Howard's End, Impromptu, In The Name Of The Father, Junior, Much Ado About Nothing, Peter's Friends, Remains Of The Day, Sense And Sensibility, The Winter Guest)
Richard Jemmons: Billy Bob Thornton (Armageddon, Sling Blade, U-Turn)
Henry Burton: Adrian Lester Daisy Green: Maura Tierney (Liar Liar)
Howard Ferguson: Paul Guilfoyle (Air Force One, Apache, Extreme Measures)
Gov. Fred Picker: Larry Hagman (TV: "Dallas", "Dallas: J.R. Returns")
Mamma Stanton: Diane Ladd (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Chinatown, Wild At Heart)
Libby Holden: Kathy Bates (Dolores Claiborne, Misery, Titanic, White Palace)
Izzy Rosenblatt: Rob Reiner (Bullets Over Broadway, Sleepless In Seattle, This Is Spinal Tap)
Dewayne Smith: Mykelti Williamson (Con Air, Forrest Gump, Heat, Miracle Mile)
Jennifer Rogers: Stacy Edwards (In The Company Of Men, TV: "Chicago Hope")
Cashmere McLeod: Gia Carides (Daydream Believer)
Himself: Larry King (The Long Kiss Goodnight)
Primary Colors centres around a governor running for President named
Jack Stanton who bears more than a passing resemblence to the current American
premier and who is also involved in a string of alleged affairs in his rise to
the top.
The film is easily described. Jack Stanton is one of a number of candidates
up for the job and the race is not always won by pointing out all your good
points to the electorate, but by seeing how far you can go to strike down all
your opponents. In all public situations, Stanton's wife, Susan, is seen
standing by him in a firm show of support, but once the cameras stop rolling
the acting stops and little by little she begins to lose control as the hits
keep coming from his adulterous behaviour.
Not only does the film follow Stanton's campaign as he travels from state to
state making his promises heard, but also that of the newcomer, a young black
man, Henry Burton, who is sometimes mis-used to get the ethnic vote where it
matters. I could go into great detail as to how the campaign pans out but it
proves fascinating viewing.
The question you want answered though is whether Stanton becomes
President... and this film keeps you guessing right until the final moment.
Head of the cast John Travolta does an admirable job as the President
wannabe. It may look that he's not doing much by smiling a lot in some scenes
and griping about the world in others, but try to picture Bill Clinton
in the same situations and he could be a dead ringer in terms of behaviour.
Similarly, Emma Thompson is just the same in the Hillary Clinton
role and equips herself well, something that surprised me as I'm not usually
a big fan of hers.
The real find here is that of Adrian Lester as Henry Burton, the
young newcomer to the political scene. It was interesting to find that at times
the story centres more on him than Jack Stanton, although a plotline involving
a conflict of interests between Henry and his girlfriend is never resolved.
Stanton's political backbone is made up of good performances Billy Bob
Thornton, Liar Liar's Maura Tierney and Paul Guilfoyle,
last seen also in presidential circles in Air Force One. Kathy Bates
is Stanton's strongest ally in his bid for the top, although she doesn't really
get a chance to shine until the end.
The rest of the film is cameo-city with film director Rob Reiner as a
radio talkshow host, Mykelti Williamson as a student taking part in an
adult literacy programme early on in the film, Stacy Edwards, best known
as Chicago Hope's Dr. Cetera, who starts off helping to run the campaign
but becomes Kathy Bates' right-hand woman, TV presenter Larry King as
himself once again, Larry Hagman playing someone other than J.R. for
a change, but when's he going to get a big-name role in his own right?; and
Gia Carides, as Cashmere McLeod, who alleges an affair with Stanton -
the resemblence between her and one-time Clinton associate Gennifer Flowers is
astounding.
Overall, originally I wasn't expecting too much from this film but it turns
out to be an engaging soap opera with two-and-a-half hours of "will he, won't
he" in the race to become President. There's a couple of slow moments, but good
performances all round - particularly from Travolta and Lester - and a worthy
story grab the attention and make this a well-spent evening's entertainment.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
