Just don't take it too seriously. I saw the film because I'm a fan of Richard Jordan, and he doesn't disappoint here - Jeffrey Pelt (The Hunt for Red October - "a cheat and a liar") with a nasty inferiority complex and absolutely no problem with having no ethics at all. Judd Nelson's character is naive in spots, calculating in spots, but ultimately the business is too cynical for him - Nelson pulls it off fine. Frank Converse is delightfully boring as the "good guy" candidate with no personality, but Justine Bateman is in over her head and drags this film down to a 6. Plot's a bit predictable here and there, but fascinatingly, it manages to foresee by about 12 years the Dan Rather fiasco of 2004, with a reporter who relies on a document that turns out to be a forgery, thereby blowing his credibility all out of the water and boosting the opposing candidate's campaign. Rather should have watched this movie.
Review of Primary Motive
