WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

LeonLouisRicci The only thing separating the "fallen" Politician from those who have not is that they got CAUGHT, in something undeniable and the unseating ensues with not much surprise but always some interest. The hypocrisy is rampant and if you cracked open any of them you are likely to find something revealing, some kind of Human fault or weakness or Sin.Corruption, immorality, and illegality are prevalent if not rampant in the ranks of the elected "public servants". From Bill Clinton to Strom Thurmond we see glimpses if not revelations of such behavior. This slightly satirical look inside is quite a droll and tame affair. It is engaging enough if not fully functional and satisfying. It is all handled by professional Movie Makers and is slick, but not sultry in its portrayal of behind the bedroom door exposures of front runners and back stabbers. There is not one sex scene in this Film about sexual responsibility and consequences and it is better for it.It makes its other points, quite well, on how to deal with the implications of being outed, both by the Party and Candidates involved and their opponents. The Movie is insightful but not really intense or deep and is more of an entertainment than Political Science.

Lou-ciro I just saw this movie for the first time. I enjoyed it. It was probably historically correct to a high degree, but the names were changed to protect the guilty. In one scene a man bursts into a meeting and yells "Quick. Turn on CNN." CNN was announcing the heart attack of the running opponent, Harris. This man who rushed in looked like John Cazales (perhaps better known as Fredo Corleone). However, Cazales' name is not in the credits. I carefully scanned the credits at the end of the film, reviewed the credits in this database, and even looked up what films Cazales had made. There were only 7, and this is not one of them. So, if this man is not him, then who is he?

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.

classicalsteve Over 20 years before a film like Primary Colors could even be conceived, a young Italian heart-throb was breaking box office records with a film which defined the Disco era: the film was Saturday Night Fever, and the movie star was John Travolta. The year: 1977. Fast-forward 20 years. Disco was over, and the New York suburbanite whose career declined in the 1980's, often labeled a one-trick pony, had a resurgence in the 1990's. Travolta went from movie star to actor, and Primary Colors is no question Travolta's best effort.Rather than playing a New York street-smart and club hustler, Travolta dons the garb of a cheeky Midwestern politician, Jack Stanton, a Midwest governor who rings a helluva lot like Bill Clinton. His auspicious wife, Susan Stanton (played stride-for-stride by the incomparable Emma Thompson) has the intelligence and no nonsense drive which rings a lot like Hillary Clinton. Together, they are on the road to capture the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. Adrian Lester in a superb and entirely convincing performance plays the straight man Henry Burton, a new-comer to the campaign. Throughout the entire film, we see the Stantons through Burton's eyes, which are at first enthralled, smitten, and eventually disillusioned with not only the shortcomings of Jack Stanton but the entire political process.Burton is pulled into the process even before he has committed himself. He accompanies Stanton on all the primary stops, staying in cheap hotels and constantly eating out. At one point he says he's never been involved in a political campaign, to which Susan Stanton replies "Neither have we." He sets up speech venues, and campaign headquarters. He also makes a few blunders along the way, neglecting to be informed about an appearance by one of their opponents. Stanton is so livid, he throws his cell phone out the window. Stanton seems to have all the qualities for making a good presidential candidate. He is highly intelligent yet personable at the one-on-one level. He is an effective debater and speaker. And he has a winning personality that the electorate can admire, even adore. But Stanton has a secret. When given the chance to engage in an extra-marital affair, he can't seem to stop himself. As the campaign progresses, Stanton's sexual history starts to come to the fore. Burton, Richard Lemmons the campaign manager (Billy Bob Thorton), and private investigator Libby Holden (Kathy Bates) must do their best to pick up the pieces and clean up for Stanton. Or at the least, they have to figure out what the press might find and beat them to it, like a wild boar stocking prey as they are characterized.All the leads and supports are par excellence. The unexpected stand-out of the cast is John Travolta who really captured the mannerisms, gestures, and speech of Bill Clinton, a.k.a. Jack Stanton. He really seems a Midwestern WASP rather than an NY Italian. Because the rest of the cast is so strong, the cast keeps up with Travolta line-for-line. High marks go to Adrian Lester as the campaign organizer Henry who loses first his girlfriend, then later his sense of morality when he signs onto the campaign. Emma Thompson can't be beat as Susan Stanton, a.k.a. Hillary Clinton. Billy Bob Thorton's character is essentially James Carvill, the southern democrat who was Clinton's campaign manager, the equivalent of Karl Rove.Unlike many other industrialized countries, the US electorate desires their politicians to have relatively clean records in areas which have nothing to do with politics. Extra-marital affairs are absolutely taboo for US Presidents yet very common among leaders in Europe. (I've heard having a mistress is a prerequisite for the Prime Minister of France.) Stanton is essentially Bill Clinton by another name. Clinton was and is a brilliant politician, but he couldn't keep his pants zipped while campaigning for and occupying national office. But somehow he made it work.