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Movies / On DVD / Primary Colors
Primary Colors

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Primary Colors (1998)

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79 %
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Reviews Counted:73

Fresh:58

Rotten:15

Average Rating:7.2/10

Consensus: Well acted and suprisingly funny.

Runtime: 2 hrs 24 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: In Mike Nichols's PRIMARY COLORS, America's topsy-turvy political process is viewed through the eyes of Henry Burton (Adrian Lester), an idealistic young man who is seduced into managing the... In Mike Nichols's PRIMARY COLORS, America's topsy-turvy political process is viewed through the eyes of Henry Burton (Adrian Lester), an idealistic young man who is seduced into managing the presidential campaign of slick southern governor Jack Stanton (John Travolta). The mesmerized Burton immediately sets up campaign headquarters and meets his new political family: Susan Stanton (Emma Thompson), Jack's wife and partner; Richard Jemmons (Billy Bob Thornton), the sly, improbable political strategist who proudly describes himself as a redneck; Libby Holden (Kathy Bates), the fanatically loyal, overtly lesbian campaign troubleshooter who always has a big mouth and occasionally carries a big gun to match; and Daisy (Maura Tierney), the young, smart, and looking-for-love campaign media adviser. The film is based on the controversial best-selling novel by Anonymous (Joe Klein). Travolta's dead-on, thinly disguised Clinton impersonation alone is well worth seeing. [More]

Starring: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates, Billy Bob Thornton

Starring: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates, Billy Bob Thornton, Adrian Lester, Maura Tierney, Larry Hagman, Allison Janney, Paul Guilfoyle

Director: Mike Nichols

Director: Mike Nichols
Screenwriter: Elaine May
Producer: Mike Nichols

[See More Credits]

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Release:

May 4, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Primary Colors

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1 - 20 (sorted by source)
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Director Mike Nichols never allows Primary Colors to get bogged down in a moralistic morass.

Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Carlo Cavagna
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com

A great political pot-boiler.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

...hardly important but well-made and ultimately life-affirming

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
07/31/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A mush of oversimplified ethics.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Austin Chronicle

A gripping drama edged with sly humour.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/01/00
Almar Haflidason
Almar Haflidason
BBC

Those who wonder how good a Clinton impersonation Travolta does miss the point.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The best and worst of Hollywood in one package.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Shlomo Schwartzberg
Shlomo Schwartzberg
Boxoffice Magazine

The movie is endlessly inventive and involving.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Striking an excellent balance between wry cultural critique and crisp entertainment value, the picture is as smart and funny as any comedy-drama in recent memory.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

Mike Nichols and screenwriter Elaine May have produced one of the smartest, funniest political movies of the past 20 years.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

Primary Colors has all the right intentions.

Full Review Source: Cinemaphile.org | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Keyes
David Keyes
Cinemaphile.org

A funny, and at some times shocking, look at the modern political process.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

Fine performances are turned in by the ensemble of strategists and adversaries including Paul Guilfoyle, and Larry Hagman as Stanton's ultimate opponent.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
01/01/00
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

No review available.

comment Comment
04/02/05
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

Doesn't know when to quit while it's ahead.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The movie itself makes no judgment. It's smart enough to ask you to do that by yourself and for yourself.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite the political milieu's rampant cynicism, the movie remains optimistic -- no mean feat.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online

Primary Colors successfully straddles the line between comedy and tragedy.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/22/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

A great cast -- led by a charming Travolta, an effectively steely Emma Thompson and a perfectly foul-mouthed Kathy Bates -- relishes the lines and bites the hand that governs them.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob McCabe
Bob McCabe
Empire Magazine

Adapting Joe Klein’s roman a clef of the same name, ferociously witty screenwriter Elaine May and her smooth old compatriot in comedy, director Mike Nichols, have made a zingy drama and have staffed it well.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source)
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