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Perhaps the thing keeping Primary Colors from achieving true greatness is pretty simple: it’s practically a fossilized record of the Clinton era in microcosm. It also had the unfortunate bit of luck to be released in 1998, shortly after the Monica Lewinsky scandal became a national soap opera, late-night punch line and eternal footnote to Clinton’s presidency. But it’s not all bad, Primary Colors is smart, cynical and twisted enough to actually examine the lesser-of-two-evils dichotomy that presides in American politics.
No film reaching for such lofty ambitions of tone or character could ever walk away as a perfectly realized piece of work, and Primary Colors is often messy, reaching into absurdist’s territory in many instances, yet still somehow striking a fairly believable tone. Luckily, you’ve got Mike Nichols steering this ship, and he’s always a great captain of ambitious and emotionally complicated waters. He delivers another of his well-oiled, slick and efficient films, but it’s missing some of the messiness of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? or The Graduate.
Great thing though that he’s assembled a group of actors that keeps things interesting, emerging as a collage of different and unique voices working in unison. Small parts are played by Allison Janney, Tony Shalhoub, Diane Ladd, Robert Klein, Rob Reiner and in a last minute supporting role, Larry Hagman who creates a very rich and detailed character out of limited screen time. Most people only know Hagman from Dallas, and his sensitive work here was a revelation to me.
Adrian Lester is our surrogate – a man who must believe in the dream, chooses to believe in the dream and despite all of the major warning signs, and has chosen to believe in this particular candidate at this time. His journey from head-in-the-sand upstart to battle-scarred campaigner is pitch-perfect. Just as great, if not better, is Kathy Bates as the manic-depressive problem-solver/dirt-suppressor. She brings a lot of energy and fun into many of her earlier scenes before transforming into the wounded, battered soul of the film at the end. It’s great work. Emma Thompson goes beyond an easy impersonation of Hilary Clinton and creates her own character, borrowing liberally from Hilary’s well-known hardness and steely exterior, yet crafting a more deferential and supportive interior.
You know, Primary Colors would have turned out much better if they had cast someone other than John Travolta in the main role. Sure, on the outside he looks the part and has the charisma to pull it off, but there’s nothing intellectual about him as an actor. And he relies too heavily on easy imitation instead of digging deep to try and form a real character or try to understand this man. One of Clinton’s greatest gifts as a politician is that he can project the outward appearance of actually caring, whether or not he does is entirely questionable. Another great asset of his was the ability to look like he actually believed in the crap he spewed out. Travolta cannot mimic or even seem to fathom these two tricks, and he frequently comes across as dumb, horny and an obvious snake-oil salesman. (And for the record, I love President Clinton. I think he did some great stuff during his time in Office.)
You know, perhaps Primary Colors could use a second look. Sure, the last act tips the film away from sardonic, black humor and into easy moralizing, but everything before that is wildly entertaining. Sure it’s uneven, but show me any film about the political system that isn’t. There’s no right, wrong or even easy way to tackle such a behemoth of a subject matter. But you gotta respect those who have tried.
