851222 Greetings from Lithuania."Primary Colors" (1998) is superbly entertaining motion picture, telling a story of a campaign for president post, and how all the dirty thing eventually come up. This is superbly paced picture, which at long running time 2 h 20 min. doesn't drag for a minute, yes, it is that involving. Scipt is terrific, sometimes very funny (but it is not slapstick comedy) and smart. Acting is brilliant. Everyone in here shines, John Travolta is superb in here, as well Billy Bob Thornton and all the rest - it is a superb cast doing a superb work.Overall, "Primary Colors" is as much about politics as it not about politics. Well, it's actually about politics, but this movie can be watch by those who don't like politic in general, this movie is a true gem. And by the way, i think i would have voted for Picker.

iamtheeye-82-615479 Without question one of the finest performances of John Travolta's career (still think he should have at least been nominated for an Oscar for "Get Shorty" and of course "Battlefield Earth"...I joke, but the former I am very serious about). The film is a loosely based depiction of the 1992 Bill Clinton presidential campaign and adapted from the novel under the same name. This film has it all, a seasoned cast under the guidance of the late and great Mike Nichols. A great script filled with witty dialogue and top-notch execution by each of the actors. I am not at all surprised by the performances especially since Nichols came from the theater scene before transitioning to films. You really get to glimpse into how a campaign unfolds and the scrutiny under which you're put upon. This film, while serious at times, is really quite hilarious. Films such as "Game Changer" and TV shows such as "VEEP" and Amazon's "Alpha Dog" owe a lot to this particular piece because it really paved the way for funny, quasi-serious political narratives. Billy Bob Thornton and Kathy Bates were amazing but without question the star as mentioned at the top was John Travolta. He was BRILLIANT!! A very underrated performance. The only reason why I didn't give it 10 stars was Emma Thompson. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy her work but her accent was all wrong. It was just too forced and not believable. A tiny thing to ding on a film but it wasn't perfect but yet it almost was.

policy134 I am not an American but I truly learned about American politics from the time Bill Clinton took office. I also learned about the incredible power that television media began to accumulate during the early 90s.This is a film about both. I will not say that I learned much new about politics or the media. It was all brilliantly covered by the real newscasts. Bill Clinton was a major celebrity and also a good politician.This movie is not really about Clinton, though, as others have pointed out. It's about morals and how they are almost always compromised when it comes to politics. This is of course brilliantly captured with the Libby Holden character, played by the incomparable Kathy Bates.I do, however think that the film is too flawed to recommend. It has too much emphasis on the affairs of Jack Stanton, and I know why so much of the running time was spent on that. It's because Clinton/Stanton is or was a basically decent politician with one serious flaw. But in the end this flaw is milked and milked and milked to the point where I thought: "Okay, I get it!". As a consequence, several characters, who I thought deserved more development, were left hanging, like Billy Bob Thornton's and Maura Tierney's.It's a good enough film but it could have been more.

evanston_dad What on paper sounds like the ingredients of a smart, snappy political satire instead makes for an over-long and lifeless dud of a movie.Mike Nichols directs John Travolta and Emma Thompson as a political couple clearly modeled on Bill and Hillary Clinton as they make their bid for President and First Lady of the U.S. But the movie has no spark at all, and it drifts aimlessly and lethargically to its conclusion.The only person who is able to breathe some life into the proceedings is Kathy Bates as a firecracker of a political consultant. Once she departs the film, her presence is sorely missed.Grade: C-