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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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61 - 73 (sorted by date)
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Like its politicians, the movie is savvy about using whatever it takes to achieve a goal.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Robert Horton
Robert Horton
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

A surprisingly funny and entertaining package.

Full Review Source: Scott Renshaw's Screening Room | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Renshaw
Scott Renshaw
Scott Renshaw's Screening Room

A hilariously entertaining movie.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Sean Means
Sean Means
Film.com
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

Sheerly as film, Primary Colors generally sizzles.

Full Review Source: New Republic | comment Comment
01/01/00
Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann
New Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A mush of oversimplified ethics.

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

The picture is so funny at times that you may have trouble controlling yourself.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

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

To be blunt, Primary Colors is one of the angriest and cynical films about running for political office ever made, but luckily it doesn't allow these two overpowering feelings to crush the film's power as entertainment.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ted Prigge
Ted Prigge
rec.arts.movies.reviews

There are piecemeal wonders in Primary Colors, but not the grand and resonant vision the film should have been.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nichols and May always were a great team, and here they deliver a film with political and social implications but they do not lose sight of the main game.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

A very interesting portrait of what lows American politics have sunk to.

Full Review Source: Needcoffee.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Widgett Walls
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com
 
 
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