primary colors * * * 1/2 produced and directed by mike nichols . written by elaine may , based on the novel by anonymous . photography , michael ballhaus . editing , arthur schmidt . production design , bo welch . music , ry cooder . cast : john travolta ( gov . jack stanton ) , emma thompson ( susan stanton ) , adrian lester ( henry burton ) , billy bob thornton ( richard jemmons ) , kathy bates ( libby holden ) , maura tierney ( daisy green ) , larry hagman ( freddy picker ) , paul guilfoyle ( howard ferguson ) , caroline aaron ( lucille kaufman ) , rebecca walker ( march cunningham ) , mykelti williamson ( the illiterate man ) , et al . a universal pictures release . 142 minutes . rated r ( language , sex ) some day in afghanistan , when they start showing films again and import " primary colors , " most viewers will make neither heads or tails of it . perhaps a mere handful of afghans will see it as a movie on the clintons . more , but still few viewers --never mind the sty in their eye --will think it is about the corrupt american electoral system and its strategies . it would be good if the american public could appreciate the movie both as clintonesque and as a kind of docu-drama of our politics , instead of the just the former , which is the majority perception . the fact is that " primary colors " is the filmization of the eponymous novel by former newsweek writer joe klein , published with " anonymous " as the author . klein , immediately suspected , at first denied , eventually 'fessed up . the book was a " roman a clef , " ( which means " a novel with a key " in french ) , the kind that shows historical facts and real people but disguised as fiction . the fiction is generally tricky so that the readers have to solve puzzles of identification . the faithful ( with some excisions ) movie version is a " film a clef , " but both incarnations are so transparent that they're not really very clef . john travolta plays the democratic governor of an unnamed southern state . his nom-de-film is jack stanton , jack as in kennedy , stanton as in clinton . he is running in the presidential primaries . his wife susan ( emma thompson ) is at his side , and she's a damn good campaigner and adviser . to stanton's staff --initially one of dedicated amateurs --is added the young idealist henry burton who wants to be part of history , and about whose late grandfather ( someone like martin luther king ) everyone gushes . stantonites include spin-doctor southerner richard jemmons , cute daisy green , troubleshooter-fixer libby holden , and others . jack and susan are " constructed " to look and sound as humanly as possible like bill and hillary clinton . henry burton , an african american , is derived from george stephanopoulos ( and played by a brit ) --a clever move because stephanopoulos is greek-american , hence , in terms of politics , a member of a minority , and henry is also a member of a minority . even more than stephanopoulos , he reinforces the aura of an all-inclusive , non-racist entourage . ( it also helps to get more black votes , of course ) . as jemmons , billy bob thornton is a projection of james carville . and so on , down the line . the film's opening is an inspired , funny visual and aural essay on the variety of hand-shakes the governor uses . it would stand by itself as a prize-winning short . then the portrait of jack is expanded , amplified and constantly added to . the man is a consummate politico who can pretend , manipulate , cajole , inspire , move , cheat , you name it , he can do it . in his first dramatic appearance , in a new york school where he encourages minority adults to get an education , stanton follows the sad tale of a black man whom illiteracy has seriously damaged , raptly and with swelling tear ducts . he segues with the heartbreaking story of his own uncle , a congressional medal of honor winner who refused all school scholarships or civilian offers , because--that was his shameful secret-- he too was illiterate . jack concludes with a moving and realistic paean of education . now here's a candidate who knows how to listen , who has sensible ideas , who understands the hurt of others . but hold on ! the uncle yarn will turn out to be pure invention . hold on again ! if quick-change artist stanton can lie like , well , a politician , he can also feel for other people . that's what makes jack such a complex , multi-layered fellow , and that's what the movie captures with amazing accuracy . this goes well beyond the simple jekyll-hyde transformation and into a far more devious and complicated character . jack has the searching eye of a ladies' man eye and a high level of testosterone . in his case as in others , those traits can be inseparable from other talents . it's one big ball of wax . i wager that the name " jack " was chosen to evoke jfk , not only for fast-thinking one one's feet but for sexual shenanigans too . just being next to stanton flusters so much the new york teacher who hosted the meeting that she keeps stumbling on stairs . she later comes out of jack's bedroom , while the governor does not even blink as his helpers , assembled in the hotel suite , watch her exit . nerves of steel ? nerve ? both . the complexity , which extends to most other aspects of the movie , makes " titanic " look like child's play , save for the specials effects . the " pc " director and writer are the once famous cabaret-type duo of nichols and may who , separated for years , were reunited on the stage , then for the film " the birdcage . " both are devilishly talented . i bet they hurried to finish " pc " while the presidential hubbub was at its then-apex . i also bet that they wished the film could have come out in the fall of 1998 , since that's when the likeliest oscar candidates will be released . while at today's date ( late march 1998 ) , " pc " leads the pack by light-years , the memory of voting academy members almost always disfavors pre-summer releases . back to henry , who is inducted in jack's ranks in a whirlwind recruitment . in " pc " we follow everyone , but it is henry whom we watch as the nearly always present thread , and as though he were the chorus of an ancient greek play . it is his actions , observations , reactions and reactions to reactions that make us , the audience , identify with this decent , able and likable young man . henry takes us everywhere , to the mechanisms , agonies and ecstasies of campaigning , including the new hampshire primary that ends with jack in second place ( to general jubilation ) well after the story's mid-point . much , if not most of the plot deals with the staff having to counter rumors , accusations or sometimes deliberate lies , and what seems to be a severe case of satyriasis ( that's the don juan syndrome , the male equivalent of nymphomania ) . among them is a phone call that incriminates jack as he talks sex with a hairdresser deliciously named cashmere mcleod . to the rescue comes gun-toting old pal libby ( kathy bates ) who seems to know everything and everyone and is wise to the age of electronics . more , i cannot divulge . the movie is fast , elliptical , humorous , amusing . it is also raunchy in speech , acts and behavior . as a farce , it is amoral , immoral , cynical and very funny . as an expose of political animals it has wild moments and touching moments . it peeks with savvy into the exhausting process of running for office , the higher the office , the more killing the effort . it pulls no punches , but understands jack stanton , warts and all . there's a magnificent night scene , the culmination of the collaboration between director , writer , set designer and the master cinematographer michael ballhaus . the camera pulls in doughnut-fancier jack sitting across the street in a glassed in a doughnut shop , chatting with true sympathy and empathy with the lone , gimpy employee . it's a rare , quiet interlude , an edward hopper moment of isolation , except that jack's presence promises some hope for the proletarian employee . it is also a moving moment of epiphany for stanton . and it justifies another scene : as billy bob is quitting his job ( he'll come back ) , he takes his leave of henry , asks him to stick with jack . " this one's worth it . " a speech to laid-off workers , from the heart and with no b . s . is as good as anything frank capra ever did , and far more believable . events that involve talk-show hosts larry king , charlie rose , geraldo rivera , bill maher ( as themselves ) , or rob reiner ( as izzy rosenblatt ) , keep hitting the mark . the reiner episode catalyzes changes that will affect jack's rival candidate . this sets in motion a crazy yet believable chain that ends up involving ex-florida governor picker ( larry hagman ) , who is the soul of decency --but has a secret . hagman underacts with admirable control , at the opposite pole of his famous " dallas " performances on tv . which brings me to the performers . they are a superb ( and superbly cast ) cast . as susan stanton , emma thompson has a number of choice scenes with terse and fast dialogue as well as reactions . she is attractive , at times seductive , even sexy . henry is endearing . libby is a great , bossy , volcanic strategist with pit bull determination , yet i have a feeling that her part is a bit overdone , not in acting but in her skills . nor am i too convinced by the final episode that concerns libby . ( no , i won't give it away . this is , after all , also a political thriller ) . then there's travolta , that lazarus of actors who came back from the dead with " pulp fiction . " he does very well , yet if you expect a total impersonation of bill clinton you simply won't get it . you might have , in a stage-play . but in a film , with its merciless close-ups , travolta can only be a semi-clinton . there's common agreement that the real president is as smart as they come , a well-educated thinker-doer . i'm not swayed by his rhodes scholarship since many scholars , even famous ones , are really duds . still , the real clinton leaves no doubts about his native intelligence . travolta can be a very fine actor . he gives a striking , cunning performance , but he cannot change his spots . if you don't allow jack his very own personality ; if you concentrate on the clinton/stanton parallels to the detriment of the bigger picture ; if you search for convincing clintonisms , no matter what travolta does , he does not exactly radiate with brains . in any case , directors and witers have to be intelligent , but thespians don't , so long as they have talent . there's no denying that a person with jack's characteristics could be a governor or president . or become a hollywood star . " le mauvais gout mene au crime " ( stendhal ) edwin jahiel's movie reviews are at <a href= " http : //www . prairienet . org/ejahiel " >http : //www . prairienet . org/ejahiel</a> 
