More Top Picks Knife Sets
player ready...Our Flick of the Week is “Primary Colors,” which is a shocking indictment of the private behavior of candidate William Jefferson Clinton during his first presidential primary campaign as well as our national political agenda, which has become more preoccupied with scandal than with social policy.
Indeed, it is significant in the Mike Nichols film of Elaine May’s treatment of Joe Klein’s novel of that campaign that absolutely no political ideas are even debated. Some scare-tactic allegations are exchanged between the candidates and older voters about whom is more likely to cut Social Security payments, but that’s it when it comes to our leaders and public policy.
We see the enemy in “Primary Colors,” and, as Pogo said, “It’s us” as much as any candidate with sleazy morals.
The bottom line for the cocktail party circuit: I think “Primary Colors” damages Mr. Clinton more than explains him. That’s because it is stunning to hear four- and seven-letter words thrown at a character who becomes the commander-in-chief. This is not like the recent films “Nixon” and “JFK,” in which those presidents were no longer alive.
John Travolta is quite credible as the film’s version of Mr. Clinton; he nails the broad smile perfectly. Emma Thompson continues her streak of fine performances as his long-suffering wife, who is smart, opinionated and absolutely committed to gaining the big prize. But two other characters stand out. The first is the idealistic, African-American grandson of a legendary civil-rights leader, who has to be talked into joining the campaign. His thoughts about the candidate, warts and all, are intended to mirror the general public’s ambivalence. And Oscar-winner Kathy Bates (“Misery”) could take home another in the supporting role of an old friend of the candidate who serves him as a self-described “dust-buster,” who is paid to research and knock down any old or new allegations of sleaze thrown at him. If politics today is hardball, Bates’ character is the equivalent of strike-out king Randy Johnson, the so-called “Big Unit.” “Primary Colors” is even more cynical about our political system than “Wag the Dog,” and I suppose we can thank Mr. Clinton for triggering that. R. (star) (star) (star) 1/2
– MR. NICE GUY. Jackie Chan, grinning and running about like a top, wears out his welcome as a TV chef who can chop bad guys as easily as a salad. Chan is known for doing his own stunts, and a regular feature of his films is a series of comical outtakes of him slightly injuring himself during the film’s action sequences. It doesn’t matter what his films are about because they are always about the same thing: Look at him go! PG-13. (star) (star) 1/2
– WILD THINGS. Yet another film about sex and murder and double-crosses, this time with a younger, hard-body cast including Neve Campbell (“Scream”) and Denise Richards as two high-school students who accuse their guidance counselor (Matt Dillon) of rape in their wealthy South Florida town. There’s an investigation and a series of surprise revelations. Only a fresh cast makes this material work as well as it does. R. (star) (star) (star)
– MADADAYO. A fine, modestly scaled, 1993 picture by master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, who offers up a potentially semi-autobiographical character of a teacher who, despite his old age, refuses to call it quits on life. His battle cry is “madadayo,” which translates to “not yet,” when asked if he is ready to pack it in. The impact of the film is that we each may consider adopting that as our own watchword as we encounter the vicissitudes of life. In Japanese with English subtitles. Not rated (but suitable for a general audience). (star) (star) (star) 1/2
– = New this week