in 1994 , an insider's look at a scandal-ridden run for the democratic presidential nomination ( closely based on clinton's 1992 campaign ) was written anonymously ( former newsweek writer joe klein later claimed true authorship ) . now , the book , primary colors , has been made into a movie , directed by mike nichols , and , in light of recent presidential scandals , seems to be more relevant than ever . but the film is more than a diatribe against , or a paean in praise of , the president . it is a fascinating look at the political machinery , and the ethical quagmire , that surround modern politics . jack stanton ( john travolta ) is the governor of a small southern state running for the democratic presidential nomination . he is charismatic , but has several flaws which threaten to doom his campaign , and strains his relationship with his wife , susan ( emma thompson ) . the film is told from the point of view of henry burton ( adrian lester ) , grandson of a civil rights leader , who is swept away by stanton's ideals and helps to organize the campaign . he joins political strategist richard jemmons ( billy bob thornton , looking an awful lot like james carville ) , and campaign advisor daisy green ( maura tierney ) . governor stanton's past repeatedly pops up to haunt him , a fact that his chief rival , lawrence harris ( kevin cooney ) , consistently uses to his advantage . to help clean up the stanton campaign , jack and susan bring in an old friend , libby " the dustbuster " holden ( kathy bates ) . the acting throughout primary colors is superb . it would be worth seeing the movie for bates' wild performance alone . she enlivens the atmosphere with energy in a truly boisterous performance . travolta does a fair clinton impersonation as governor stanton , although his accent does stray a little . emma thompson delivers a strong performance as his suffering wife who can't let anything show that might hurt the presidential run . the problem with political movies is that they tend to alienate over half of their audience by promoting one side or the other , or else the movie is vague to the point of boredom . primary colors treads lightly on this issue . though stanton is clearly portrayed as a democrat , and there are a few minor barbs thrown in the way of republicans , the movie touches on few actual political issues . in fact , most of the " bad guys " are fellow democrats on the same road to the white house . rather than issues , the film is primarily concerned about scandals and spin control . although the film strays into some obviously non-clinton territory , it is difficult to completely separate it from reality ( particularly when certain scenes seem to highlight the president's current troubles ) . primary colors' chief problem is its length . it runs about 15 minutes too long . there are some scenes which could have easily been cut . for example , midway through the film , the candidate gives a speech to an assembly of laid off machinists . the scene's only apparent purpose is to establish stanton's character , which has already been done in similar scenes earlier in the film . the extra length isn't long enough nor tiring enough to be annoying , but it mars an otherwise excellent film . republicans , democrats , and political agnostics should all be able to find something to like in primary colors . it's a funny , and at some times shocking , look at the modern political process . 
