On the box, Primary Colors treats itself like a comedy, but no video store put it in that section. It was placed in Drama instead, as was it on my bookshelf. I wasn’t sure what I was going to get when watching this, and after watching this…I’m still not sure what I got. Pretty much a half and half, like Wedding Crashers where it blows its load early and spends the last half smoking a cigarette and crying. Regardless, solid movie and I’m happy I own it.
It follows the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton (John Travolta), a man who “actually cares about the people, but will lie about it to get elected” as put by his new campaign manager, Henry. Jack is a man you can easily get behind, hell, I’d vote for him. He’s calm, cool, collected, and has an answer for everything. He genuinely cares, runs ideas by the Krispy Kreme cashier, stays extra at Adult Literacy classes because he likes talking to the people there struggling to get to that 5th grade reading level. He looks fake, he talks fake, it just all feels like he’s doing it for votes until little flashes of empathy tell you “this guy gives a shit.” He’s got a southern personality that almost makes him a laughing stock of the presidential race (VIP’s are invited to a lovely ribs dinner at an outdoor BBQ joint on the bayou), but he sticks to his guns and tends to surprise people with his intelligence. He refuses to be negative and for as long as he can, fights as hard as he can to avoid mudslinging. He’s a good guy…when he’s not a lying, cheating, conniving dick.
Naturally he’s an underdog of extraordinary proportions and showcases this by surrounding himself with a band of misfits that seem more like characters from a gross college sex comedy than a political satire. There’s Chief Political Strategist Richard (Billy Bob Thornton), who takes a disturbing pride in the fact that he’s a redneck, which he also uses to justify his hilarious lack of tact, Advisor by proximity Daisy (Maura Tierney), who reminds me of those obnoxious moms in PTO meetings that turn down anything regarding Prom unless it involves a lesson in abstinence, as well as the “Dustbuster” Libby (the amazing Kathy Bates), a recently released mental patient who’s psychotic tendencies (usually involving the gun she always carries with her) make her amazing at digging up dirt, but make you afraid that she really shouldn’t be released into mainstream society. This group together, along with some smaller characters, engage in antics that follow the “it’s so crazy, it just might work” mentality, and there is many-a-scene in the movie where I just cracked up and said to myself “these people need to be under constant supervision.”
The supervisors here are Stanton’s wife, Susan (Emma Thompson), who plays the cliché “woman who believe so much in the politician, the fact that he’s a lying, cheating, asshole of a husband can be ignored for a while.” It’s a tired role, I’d almost rather see a movie where the candidate gets penis chopped off while his wife says “now your brain will work better. Go run the country, pumpkin.” But alas, she does it well, completely focused on the ultimate goal with little bits of humanity in between. Also there’s Campaign Manager Henry (Adrian Lester), who suffers from (according to Richard) “True Believer Syndrome” in that he believes so much that Stanton is the real deal that he will get shattered when he discovers the kind of person he really is. He doesn’t fit in the dysfunction, scoffs at it, which is why he works so well in this position.
The first half of Primary Colors plays hard into the dysfunction of the campaign staff and does so brilliantly. It toys with politics and running a campaign and takes the idea that it’s a circus a bit literally. It pokes fun at the game and despite their, quirks everyone passes themselves off as charming. You laugh at the stern looks from Henry as the Festival of Fools dance around and sing “You Are My Sunshine.” You admire that this team still enjoys each other and their lives on top of being engaged in a heated campaign. It’s refreshing to see the drama not set in.
Then the drama sets in. At about the point where there is genuine concern that Susan’s hair length could actually lose voters, the team, and the movie, stop and say “ok, time to get down to business.” Now, I can’t say that the drama aspect of Primary Colors took away from the quality of the film, as the analysis of the dirty politics was quite intriguing and watching as the characters violated their own principles not because they wanted to gain an edge, but because they knew they had to to survive was impressive.
You see this best through “The True Believer” Henry, who was so gung-ho at the beginning of this that it’s almost sad to watch him develop as big of a hatred towards “the game” as he does. Psychotic “Dustbuster” Libby starts getting philosophical and starts analyzing the moral dilemmas of the things she does…while, of course, still carrying her gun. Stanton stays as charming as ever, but makes decisions that you’re not sure whether to hate him for or to admire his ability to make them. Regardless, the humor gets sapped from the situation and the dysfunctional family you’ve come to know and love starts to break down piece by piece like a crappy sitcom that does “the sexual abuse episode.” Again, this isn’t a bad change, just a little unexpected the vast change it makes, which perhaps is the point. It’s expected to be on edge the closer you get to voting day.
I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, but understand why it could get mixed reviews. It seems to want to tell you something more than “getting involved in politics is a messy, messy business” but can never really commit to its own moral fibers long enough to make a strong case for any other nuggets of wisdom. Once the movie turns into a drama, the quirks that made the characters exciting and fun start to meld into this campaign manipulating robot and the whole experience just feels preachy. But I’m a fan of the game of politics and the study of it, so Primary Colors catered to me a bit.
As this is my backlog, I’m giving it 8 dustbusters out of 10. 7 for the movie itself and one for “Dustbuster” Libby Holden, because she was a heck of a character.
No comments:
Post a Comment