John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton
A man joins the political campaign of a smooth-operator candidate for president of the USA.
DVD Release Date: September 8, 1998
Stats: 557 reviews
Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (557)
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December 21, 2008
#4 Primary Colours
Okay, technically, Travolta doesn?t play a president in Primary Colours, he plays a presidential candidate. But it can be argued that Travolta?s character - a womanizing, intelligent Southern governor - is based upon the pre-presidential days of one William Jef...( read more) -
March 28, 2008
Definitely an important movie. A bit subversive at parts, but easily the best presidential election movie I've seen. A bit too silly in many parts, but it also manages to be pretty intense near the end. The movie asks a lot of serious questions about politics and yourself.
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November 16, 2009
Mike Nichols' epic political satire is a smart, funny look at the process of campaigning for the Presidency through the eyes of maybe the most idealistic campaign manager in political history. Henry Burton (Adrian Lester) is the son of a famous black civil rights leader, on the f...( read more)
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August 6, 2009
Surprised that Travolta - a card-carrying Democrat - would spoof his dear friend Bill. Still, he does it extremely well. Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates and Billy Bob Thorton are all excellent.
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May 2, 2009
I thought "Primary Colors"
was pretty good. It appears to be a lot easier on "Jack Stanton," the Clinton surrogate played by John Travolta, than the book reportedly was. The movie presents "Stanton" as flawed but essentially decent (at least as decent as any politician running fo...( read more)
Critic Reviews
It's hard for me fully to express how deeply rotten I think Primary Colors is. Adjectives like 'glib,' 'coarse,' and 'sour' don't fully do it. full review
The movie loses something by downplaying the book's arresting contrast between Stanton's smooth dishonesty and Picker's raw sincerity. full review
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