The People vs. Larry Flynt

THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT (1996) **** Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, James Carville, James Cromwell, Richard Paul, Crispin Glover, Vincent Schiavelli, Miles Chapin, Brett Harrelson, Donna Hanover, Norm MacDonald. Superb biographical account of smut publisher Larry Flynt (portrayed by Best Actor nominee Harrelson in arguably the role of his career) whose bouts with the courts regarding libel, pornography and ultimately first amendment rights to the freedom of speech are captured like a tempest in a teacup that depicts the rise and near fall of Flynt (who was paralyzed in an assassination attempt) and the uncomparable love affair with his doomed yet dedicated wife, bisexual, drug-addicted and tragically AIDS afflicted wife Althea Leasure (Love in a toweringly brilliant turn at acting that deserves all the recognition she mustered) who stood by her man as she withered away. Funny, insightful, important and some masterful filmmaking overall thanks largely to the cleverly constructed screenplay by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski ("Ed Wood"), costumes by Theodore Pistek and Arianne Phillips, and all too believeable production design by Patricia von Brandenstein. And yes that is real-life Flynt as one of the judges passing sentence and yes it is real-life brother Brett of Woody playing siblings. Kudos to Best Director nominee Milos Forman (who was sorely passed over in the Best Picture nomination as well as practically getting shut out come to mention it) for pulling off a difficult hat trick: making scum respectable.

Before watching this movie, I had nearly no idea who Larry Flynt was. I read a quick summary a few minutes before watching it, but I hardly knew any specific details. After watching it, I know exactly who he is, and what he stands for. He stands for freedom of speech. Some might call him a pervert. Others call him a patriot. I believe he is the latter. While I don't know the exact story of Larry Flynt from any other sources than this movie, I don't know if it's completely accurate. The plot is great, for a biographic piece, the acting is superb, by most actors, especially the three main characters. Most of the cinematography fits the movie perfectly. The only thing that bothered me a little, was there was relatively little information about why Larry Flynt did what he did, believed what he believed so strongly. I sympathized with his character in several scenes, but I never fully understood him. The director should have had at least a few more emotional scenes with Larry, to explain his actions better. Overall, a very good drama. Recommendable to most fans of the genre, as long as they can stand what the movie shows them. If you have an open mind, you're not too easily offended and you're into autobiographical dramas, this is a good film to watch. 8/10

I went into this one fully expecting to like the heck out of it, and I wasn't disappointed. No one had to convince me the message was a valid one, but I still thought I'd drop a line to say that I thought it was a very well done movie. It shows how a right that is supposedly near and dear to us all is often skewed in favor of mollycoddling lots of hypocrites who has the ridiculous audacity to think they have the right and the obligation to tell the rest of the world what to think of as moral or immoral. I loved the scene where Woody Harrelson, who does an absolutely bang-up job, gives a speech about how explicit depictions of death, murder, and war are considered appropriate while sex is considered filthy. "Sex or war" indeed. The more of Harrelson I see, the more my respect for his work grows. I must also mention Courtney Love, who is terrific as Althea. Great movie, I thought. Most of the people who don't like it are probably also the very ones it portrays as being the "bad guys"-the religious right, of course. Larry Flynt may not be admirable in the type of lifestyle he and Althea lived, and his magazine is, to my mind, entirely repugnant. But if Larry and Althea truly had the sort of relationship portrayed they loved each other beyond all reason, and what he did makes him a great patriot. How many people would do what he did in defense of such an idealistic belief? Not all people who do great things for great reasons are great people.

it is unfortunate that when one thinks of the movie 'people vs. larry flynt' the first person to come to mind is courtney love. not that she does an less then stellar job, rather by focusing solely on her, the rest of the richly deserving cast are overlooked. woody harrelson is genius as larry flynt. despite my liberal leanings, before seeing this movie i had made peace with the fact the flynt was a scum, but i would support him on the basis of free speech. after seeing this movie i was able to gain insight into the parts of his character which make him whole person. instead of seeing what Christian-right zealots, or bleeding heart liberals, tried to force upon me, i saw the entire man and all he brought with him. granted this was shown primarily thru scenes written and directed by milos forman, however, it is harrelson who brings them to life and convinces me of their sincerity.

"The People vs. Larry Flynt" is already 8 years old, and the subject it talks about is even older, but it still hasn't lost anything of it's relevance. This isn't a movie about Larry Flynt, the porn king. It's more a movie about the right to say what you want to say, without having to think of every person's opinion first.

You may not like the man or what he stands for, but at least he has the guts to stand up for what he believes in. He defends his right to speak freely and doesn't mind kicking against the shins of the ultra conservative Christians. In a way today's America needs more people like him instead of acting like a bunch of sheep being brought to the slaughterhouse by their government...

The acting in the movie is very good, but especially Woody Harrelson as Larry Flynt and Edward Norton as his lawyer were excellent. Courtney Love isn't really an actress, but still did a good job (not that hard to do when you play a role that you are quite familiar with in your own life.)

All in all this is a very enjoyable movie that will be loved by some and hated by many. Personally I liked it and I give it a 7.5/10