Primary Colors

 

Primary Colors 1998

• Director:  Mike Nichols
• Cast: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Adrian Lester, Kathy Bates. Billy Bob Thornton, Larry Hagman
• Why? Emma Thompson and Adrian Lester
• Seen: Once before. Now 21 September 2025 

       Who wants to see a film about an American election? Not me, but Emma Thompson and Adrian Lester are in it and I remember it being OK.

       Henry (Lester) gets roped into being campaign manager for presidential candidate Jack (Travolta) because his grandfather was a famous civil rights leader and Jack wants the black vote. Thompson plays Jack’s wife who struggles to keep the obnoxious womanizing Jack on track.

       It’s supposedly a satire on Bill and Hilary Clinton.

       An odd film but, as we know, reality is odder still and we know how things went for the Clintons. The film is fiction, of course, interesting enough with a strong cast, but it’s still about an American election and it’s kind of boring.      

2 ½ * of 5