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 ca n'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 is n'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 .
she enlivens the atmosphere with energy in a truly boisterous performance delivers a strong performance the acting throughout primary colors is superb should all be able to find something to like