The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

I love this movie so much

Very well executed

Too much of everything

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Seemingly, it is very convenient to use the details of historical data to force the audience into an emotional atmosphere of a story, but it has already destroyed the basic law of drama. Because the historical value of a real event does not necessarily mean that it can play a positive role in a dramatic adaptation. This may explain why most chapters of the film seem to be unfocused. The director Milos Forman tried to save this film with a skilled emotional ending, but it was too late.

This film feels almost like a documentary in the sense that it does not contain much emotional content. It details the happenstances of Larry Flynt's life without asking us to love the guy or identify with him. But it does ask us to identify with his ideals, which are the core of the film.Flynt is well portrayed by Woody Harrelson as a self-interested entrepreneur, a self-invented man who found success in the publication of erotica via a circuitous route. He is also a man who goes out of his way to tackle controversy and ruffle feathers. Like Hefner and Guccione and others who work in the porn arena, Flynt waves the American flag and champions Constitutional rights, especially first amendment rights. Flynt also had the misfortune of beginning his crusade in Cincinnati--a very nice area that also has a deserved reputation of prudishness, based upon several notable cases of censorship.Courtney Love plays Flynt's (third) wife Althea, and delivers a tremendous performance of the complex woman who stood by Flynt during the worst times.The story is mostly fact, not fiction. Those unfamiliar with Flynt's battles with the law and his historic court cases can learn about a chapter in America's struggle to escape the influences of self-appointed moralists. In retrospect--given the availability of porn today--this story may seem unreal to some, but the battle lines and the consequences were as real as a sniper's bullet.

Growing up in the backwoods of Kentucky, Larry Flint would make moonshine as a kid. As an adult, Larry Flynt (Woody Harrelson) runs a strip club in Cincinnati. Althea Leasure Flynt (Courtney Love) is the new strippers. Then he publishes Hustler magazine as a regular guy's Playboy. It gets notoriety with the publication of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis pics. The brash offensive pornographer comes to the attention of righteous Charles Keating (James Cromwell) and gets charged. Alan Isaacman (Edward Norton) is his lawyer in the long running battle with the government.It's a great performance from Woody Harrelson in one of the most compelling modern characters. Love him or hate him, one cannot ignore Larry Flynt. Also one should not ignore this performance. Surprisingly Courtney Love gives a coherent and wonderful performance. It's a quick moving movie despite a lot of courtroom drama. It takes a dirty subject and shines a light on a brighter meaning.

Milos Forman's biographic drama, though a little dragging and momentumless towards the middle, is a well-made movie, with incredible acting to steer it through.The movie misses the point, and tries to portray Mr.Larry Flynt as such a likable honest man. Larry Flynt, who had countless number of wives and divorces, whose ex-wives claim he was a beater, whose own daughter accused him of sexual abuse, who disowned his own daughter, whose magazines are a bit too sexist... is idealized a bit too much in the movie. But for what purpose? Why not show him the way he is? The whole point is to concentrate on the importance of the first amendment; no matter what kind of person it is, and what he/she is trying to express, the amendment gives them the freedom to do so. If the story was told from the neutral point of view of the lawyer (played by Edward Norton), with the magazines and the religious institutions on either side, it would have made a more compelling point.The acting is top-notch, and the only thin which holds the movie together. Woody Harrelson is a delight to watch, and Courtney Love is surprisingly good in her acting. Mr. Nortan does a charming supporting role.