Primary Colors 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, Rovi
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