by Curtis Edmonds -- blueduck@hsbr.org
One of my favorite television shows ever was a Discovery Channel documentary on squirrels. The show was investigating different contraptions designed to keep squirrels away from bird feeders. The plucky squirrels were so successful (after a couple of dozen hilarious attempts) at defeating the stratagems placed against them that the producers finally created the world's first Squirrel Obstacle Course. The heroic squirrel had to make impossible leaps, walk a tightrope, climb a ladder, and even (I think) pedal a little squirrel bicycle, all to get to the seeds in the bird feeder. A true representation of the triumph of the squirrel spirit.
Primary Colors isn't anywhere near as good as the squirrel show, but the theme is the same, nonetheless. John Travolta plays... um... an empathetic baby-boomer Southern Governor with gray hair and a high, yet hoarse voice. The movie is about Governor "Jack Stanton", his 1992 race for the Presidency, and the various obstacles along his path to the White House. Like our friend the squirrel, Stanton has to persevere through all sorts of odd situations. We see Stanton soliciting votes on a New Hampshire streetcorner in the driving rain as if he were homeless and looking for handouts. We see him wearing a yarmulke and chatting up Florida retirees about Medicare and Israel, and dealing with lesbian hecklers in New York City. We see him selling satellite technology to the Chinese... wait, that's for the sequel.
We see a lot of the sheer physical effort it takes to survive a Presidential campaign in Primary Colors, but the movie is mostly about the moral effort expended. Primary Colors raises deep moral questions in the pragmatic context of politics: When is it appropriate to run negative ads? How do you ask the candidate's wife if he's been sleeping around behind her back? If it's moral to research your opponent, is it moral to use that research against him? The mantra you hear in election season is that campaigns should be about "the issues." To its credit, Primary Colors is about moral issues and the buffeting those issues receive on the campaign trail.
It's also about politics. Political junkies will find much to carp about in the presentation of politics in the movie -- you never, ever, not even once hear any reference to fundraising, which is unthinkable in a novel about campaigning -- however, director Mike Nichols manages to capture much of the energy, nerves, and confusion that surround a political campaign. The set design, from the motel rooms to the storefront headquarters is authentic in its shabbiness. The casting is phenomenal. The large roles are famously well-cast (especially Billy Bob Thornton as James Carville), but the smaller roles are filled imaginatively: Rob Reiner as a schmaltzy Miami talk-show host, Larry Hagman as a ghostly Presidential contender, former Dukes of Hazzard actor-turned-Congressman Ben Jones as a media advisor.
The script follows the famous novel closely -- perhaps too closely -- and although the twists in the storyline are awkward, they parallel the awkwardness of the 1992 campaign. I was, for a while, incredibly distracted by the comings and goings of the assorted staff members, the subplots that sputtered and went nowhere, until I realized that campaigning is distracting in just that way, and that real-life subplots don't always play out.
However, Primary Colors qualifies as a disappointment because what we see on the movie screen is so at odds with what we know of real life. Part of this is due to the unhealthy, interest we show in our leading politicians. Travolta plays a character based on a man whose private life over the last six years has been scrutinized to an extent surpassed only by the fictional protagonist of The Truman Show. As a result, we all think we know the President, and although Travolta does a fine job of impersonation, he doesn't measure up. Primary Colors gives us nothing more than a superficial caricature of the real candidate. His worst enemies will concede that Bill Clinton is a thoughtful and intelligent man, well-versed in public policy. Travolta's character has no grasp of public policy other than a desire to do big things, very little personal warmth or charisma, and seemingly compulsive eating habits. The vague, buffoonish and broad characterization of the Clinton character strikes me as more than a little unfair -- and this is coming from a reviewer who is a confirmed right-winger, mind you.
In the same vein, Billy Bob Thornton may be perfectly cast as James Carville, but he is wretchedly underused and cheaply stereotyped as an ignorant redneck, no smarter than the role he played in The Apostle. Adrian Lester has a smarter role as the narrator/campaign manager, but he's saddled with a naive idealism worthy of the misfit volunteers who people the storefront offices and make copies. Only Maura Tierney, in a too-brief role as media spokesman, has the appropriate level of intelligence and cynicism you'd expect from a veteran political operative.
Paradoxically, both the least and most most crudely drawn performances in Primary Colors are the best. Emma Thompson sheds her English accent to play Travolta's long-suffering wife. She manages to wrench a profound and moving performance from the lines she's given, playing a character with the intelligence, sensitivity and guts to deal with the stress of the campaign and her husband's cheating heart. Kathy Bates, as a political troubleshooter -- or "Dustbuster", as she terms herself -- is the most broadly overdrawn character in a movie full of overdrawn characters. She acts like a cartoon character throughout the movie, screaming and brandishing guns, she redeems that performance with a touching and pivotal role in the movie's climax.
But placing these performances aside, the heart of Primary Colors is Travolta's Clinton. With the tragic death of Phil Hartman, Travolta may be the best Clinton impersonator out there today. It's unfortunate that Travolta's performance in this movie is more "Saturday Night Live" than "Saturday Night Fever". Primary Colors is a dishonest look at a frequently dishonest political culture, and a misuse of quality actors and moviemakers. Nevertheless, there are enough positive things about the movie to make a trip to the video store worthwhile -- unless, of course, the Discovery Channel runs that squirrel documentary again.
Rating: B
-- Curtis Edmonds blueduck@hsbr.org
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