I think that Larry Flynt, the Pornographer, was a despicable scumbag. A man who exploited sexuality for a profit. And Flynt himself would probably agree with that assessment of himself and the magazine he created.
But there's clearly much MORE to Larry Flynt than that.
He was honest about that. But in being honest, he challenged others, including those who hold political and economic power in our nation, to do the SAME about themselves. But they won't... they're afraid to tell the truth about themselves
In an odd way, his fight to be free to be a pornographer led him to also become a gutsy and tireless champion of the First Amendment. And that's a lot more than the political frauds in office can ever claim to be.
In a way, the dirt bag that was Larry Flynt was admirable. He could have backed off in his resistance to censorship; he could have toned down the magazine some and continued to reap profits without having to go to jail and spend far too much of his life in courtrooms... but he didn't. He challenged America to LIVE UP to the principles that it loudly professes to support, but is too chicken to support beyond mere lip service.
And that, in a nutshell, is one way that a dirt bag pornographer earns himself the title of American Patriot.
Tom Laughlin, the actor who portrayed the character Billy Jack, once said in an interview that Billy Jack was about the ONLY hero that our young people could admire and believe in. Billy was honest, brave, and tough.
Maybe right next to Billy Jack we should place an angry man in a gold plated wheelchair whose name is Larry Flynt.
Don't sell the man short; there's much MORE there than a short, casual look would reveal. And this film gives us the opportunity to look into that complex individual.
