Peter Burton (John Cusack) and Tim Garrity (James Spader) are waiting for Peter's congressional election results. The movie flashes back to University of Virginia Law School where the two best friend first met in a fender bender. Tim is from a rich family and plans to pursue a career in justice. His girlfriend Diana (Imogen Stubbs), the daughter of Senator Stiles (Richard Widmark), breaks up with him. Peter is ambitious and amoral social climber coming from a poor background. He had an affair with Diana and even marries her. Despite that, Tim stays as Peter's best man. Peter's rise in politics involve mob-connected John Palmieri (Mandy Patinkin) putting him in direct conflict with Tim who joined the Justice Department.These are two of the best actors of their age. They do their utmost but the story unfolds with a series of plot points. Concentrating on Peter Burton could have made this an interesting dark movie. This has the feel of a Brat Pack movie trying to do politics although the guys bring it. This film is unable to build tension and lacks the intensity that it deserves.

It's odd how some movies really resonate with you as individual but do not necessarily have mass appeal. I think this is a sleeper, not many people have seen it. This is one of my favourites & a movie I go back to from time to time. It's a real journey, picking Spader & Cusack's characters up as they commence college like & following them for the next 10 years or so into there respective careers & personal lives.While both are high achievers; Spader comes from a successful wealthy family & Cusack from a modest working class back ground. Consequently there attitudes & what drives them is completely different. I found exploring both characters fascinating as there relationship is put under enormous strain.It's set from 1984 onwards so if you enjoy being nostalgic over that capitalistic age, & enjoyed the brat pack movies, this will help. Also an excellent score by Michael Lang called fanfare. Hope you enjoyed it like it did.

John Cusack and James Spader are the leading men in this 1991 drama.True Colors tells about two friends Peter Burton (Cusack) and Tim Garrity (Spader).The movie starts with them waiting for the results of the congressional election.Then the movie goes seven years back to the year 1983 at the law school and shows us how they became friends.Then we learn how Peter betrays his best friend when he enters the world of politics.This Herbert Ross movie is fairly good law movie.John Cusack at his younger years gets to show his talent.It's pretty unbelievable to watch his speech at the end.And James Spader is just as good.Another great scene is where these two are skiing down the hill and Peter hurts himself.Imogen Stubbs plays Diana Stiles who talks about marriage with Tim but ends up marrying Peter.Mandy Patinkin plays the true crook John Palmeri.Richard Widmark is Senator James Stiles.Dina Merrill is Joan Stiles.Philip Bosco is Senator Frank Steubens.True Colors is a good movie.It's not a great movie, but it's a good movie.

from Dane YoussefThe Brat Pack actors are certainly a talented bunch. Everyone has a favorite. For me, it's a toss-up between James Spader and Anthony Michael Hall.John Cusack was mesmerizing back in his early-days. He was a teenager, but he looked, sounded and acted very adult for his age. "The Sure Thing" put him on the map and "Say Anything..." made him a household name.But while Crowe's "Say Anything..." was obviously a great movie, it was both a blessing and a curse for Cusack, who has rarely played anything else in his career. I know, I know. He's been in countless other movies. But "a rose by any other name..." His character, no matter what the movie, is essentially always Lloyd Dobbler.Spader sometimes played other types besides the oily Steff from "Pretty in Pink." His typecast-breaking turn came when he played the lead in this movie. But I know Cusack can do more. I keep waiting for him to. Which was one of my guilty pleasures of this movie.The story and plot are the right out of the old fable about the rich man and the poor man who come together and create something special... and then the rich man betrays the poor man and casts him aside. And the poor man plots to take revenge...Another big twist that "True Colors" has is it's twist in typecasting. Cusack specializes in playing sharp, calculated, smarter-than-average teenager... who's heartbroken and devastated... and is desperately trying to win back the girl. Here, Cusack plays a character who's as smart as the heroes he usually plays, though here he uses his intellectual gifts for evil instead of good. His goal is usually to win the girl's heart. Here he betrays the girl (and his close friend) in order to get what he wants.And Spader usually plays blue-blooded, silver-spoon fed, upper-class yuppie scummy villains. Here he's still a rich blue-blooded yuppie. But a hero, who uses his financial connections to right wrongs and do just.The two meet the first day of law school where there's a fender-bender and brief scuffle. Cusack angrily attacks Spader violently and blames him for the whole thing and the two have to be pulled apart. Later on, things get worse as they discover... their assigned to be roommates. Cusack smooths things over by admitting the whole thing was his fault. You'll see why.Afterwords, the two form a fast friendship and Spader even uses his financial backgrounds and connections to help Cusack out. Later we find out that Cusack is lying about his background to fit in and the payoff feels lifted out of a soppy, moralizing and insipid sit-com where today's moral is... "If you have to be someone else to get a friend, then they're really not your friend."Richard Widmark is great as well as the ailing senator who sees potential and ambition in Cusack after he sees what looks like Cusack doing him a favor, little realizing how dangerous Cusack is. Spader girlfriend considers breaking off the relationship for Cusack who can keep her bringing in big cash. She doesn't realize that Cusack is willing to betray her too, in order to get what he wants.One of the major problems is that their true colors are obvious from the beginning. Cusack is clearly someone not to trust from the start and Spader all but actually walks on water. Another is that the movie is too thin. There isn't enough entry.The movie... skims too much of the surface. And Spader's big plan and the finale is pretty tacked on.The movie aspires to be a movie like "Patriot Games" or "Citizen Kane." But everything is routine and predictable and there are precious few new touches to this tired formula. If screenwriter Kevin Wade could've given the script a bit more depth and discovery into these characters and done a little more with the formula, this could have really been something special. The cast does what it can, but inevitably, a good cast can only take a movie so far. Still, it's worth seeing just for Cusack turn towards the dark side and Spader as a yuppie with heart.Oh, well...--Filled With Personal Politics, Dane Youssef