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True Colors (1991)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 4.9/10
Reviews Counted: 15
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 8

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 3.3/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 0 | Rotten: 5

No consensus yet.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 4,755

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Movie Info

John Cusack and James Spader play against type in Kevin Wade's morality play, directed by Herbert Ross. Spader plays Tim Gerrity, a well-heeled WASP blueblood, who has dedicated his life to justice and public service. Engaged to Diana Stiles (Imogene Stubbs), the daughter of a powerful senator (Richard Widmark), Tim seems to have a rosy future ahead of him. Enter Peter Burton (John Cusack), Peter's working-class roommate at the University of Virginia. Peter, a ravenous and devouring go-getter,

R, 1 hr. 51 min.

Drama

Directed By: Herbert Ross

Written By: Kevin Wade

In Theaters: Mar 15, 1991 Wide

On DVD: Aug 20, 2002

Paramount Home Video

True Colors Trailer & Photos

Cast

John Cusack
Peter Burton
James Spader
Tim Garrity
Imogen Stubbs
Diana Stiles
Mandy Patinkin
John Palmeri
Richard Widmark
Senator James B. Stiles
Dina Merrill
Joan Stiles
Philip Bosco
Senator Steubens
Paul Guilfoyle
John Lawry
Richard G. Adee
Palmeri's First Mate
Bev Appleton
Professor Houseman
Steve Aronson
Miami Reporter
Russell Dennis Baker
Todd
John Tucker Battle
Burton Campaign Aide
Sally Beckner
Miami Reporter
Julian Bell
Anchorman
Joshua Billings
Justice Department Aide
Sue Boyd
Senior Supporter
Donald Campen Jr.
Campaign Aide
Tony Carlin
Tony
Timothy Chambers
FBI Agent
Philip Coccioletti
Carl
Lisa Cooley
Stile's Secretary
Kim Criswell
Campus Radical
O. Dewayne "Bart" Davis
Campaign Reporter
Ernie Dunn
Campaign Aide
Tom Ellis
FBI Agent
Ronnie Farer
Justice Department Agen...
Rhonda Fitzgerald
Justice Secretary
Tom Sean Foley
Ken
Mike Fowler
Burton Campaign Aide
Anthony Fusco
Sam Minot
Peter Hackes
Dr. Burt Tuck
R.M. Haley
FBI Agent
Thomas Hauff
Detective
Anne H. Hill
Campaign Aide
Sam Hoffman
B.J.
Chester Holt
Senior Supporter
Karen Jablons-Alexander
Store Clerk
Larry Joshua
David
Mary Mara
Sophia Palmeri
Joe Mattys
Tux Shop Owner
Bruce McCarty
Mark
Don McManus
Stubblefield
Mary McMillan
Campaign Reporter
Steve Morley
Justice Department Aide
Rende Rae Norman
Fanne
Wendee Pratt
Janine
Antonia Rey
Soledad
Ed Sala
Lackerby Aide
Brad Sullivan
Abernathy
Frank Hoyt Taylor
Senator Lackerby
Sam Wells
Miami Reporter
Scott Wickware
Detective
Michael Kennedy
Miami Reporter
Hank McCann

Critic Reviews for True Colors

All Critics (18) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (8) | DVD (4)

True Colors apparently thinks it is exposing the values of the greedy 1980's. Yet its own understanding of moral conduct is warped.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Vincent Canby

New York Times

Top Critic

While it aspires to lofty heights, it never really goes much beyond the rules of behavior prescribed by the Boy Scout Handbook.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Rita Kempley

Washington Post

Top Critic

Requires more than the willing suspension of disbelief; it demands a willful abandonment of incredulity.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

The painstakingly obvious screenplay by Kevin Wade (Working Girl) plays like an eighth-grade civics primer: ethics and morality are good, greed and corruption are bad.

May 20, 2006 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle

| Comment

Steve Davis

Austin Chronicle

Diverting political melodrama, but shouldn't Cusack and Spader have switched roles?

May 12, 2005 Comment

Rob Thomas

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

A case study of the dire effects of an individual's lack of ethical standards.

July 18, 2003 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice

| Comment

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality and Practice

Much of the film's entertainment value lies in watching two familiar guys (Cusack and Spader) playing switcheroo with their stock roles, but the movie is more than just effective 'gimmick casting'.

February 21, 2003 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

| Comment

Scott Weinberg

Apollo Guide

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for True Colors

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This movie has three of my favourite actors: Cusack, Spader, and Widmark. But I only got to see the second half of it on TV one day. It's full of political stuff I don't understand and don't care for, but like I said, I didn't get to see the whole of it. From what I saw it's not that good, but I did like seeing

April 22, 2011

AJ Verser

Super Reviewer

John Cusack, James Spader, Imogen Stubbs, Mandy Patinkin, Richard Widmark DIRECTED BY: Herbert Ross Best friends from law school to election night, their friendship is sorely tested when one learns of another's betrayal. It was a good movie with great performances from Cusack and Spader. At times I found myself

August 23, 2009

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Super Reviewer

True Colors Quotes

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