Titreenp
SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
Roxie
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Kimball
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Python Hyena
The People VS Larry Flynt (1996): Dir: Milos Foreman / Cast: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, James Cromwell, Richard Paul: Rousing film about Larry Flynt and his constant battle with society and what is morally acceptable. He is the creator of Hustler magazine, which rivals Playboy in its pornographic expectations. He argues that the female body should not be disregarded but lands in court on numerous occasions. Eventually he ends up in a wheelchair after an attempt is taken on his life. He lands in court again to answer a lawsuit by a religious leader. Then his wife announces that she has A.I.D.S. Some may see it as a celebration of repulsive behavior yet the film is provocative with director Milos Foreman presents strong arguments. Foreman is at his best with material such as this especially when one looks at Amadeus, arguably his best film. Woody Harrelson delivers a flawless performance displaying Flynt's ego and arrogance. Courtney Love is superb as Flynt's unstable wife whose health suffers. Edward Norton is excellent as Flynt's frustrated lawyer who does much damage control. James Cromwell delivers interesting supporting work as well as Richard Paul who plays off the religious right wing agenda of Jerry Fawell whom Flynt mocks. Portrait of a man with questionable ethics and an argument for free speech. Score: 8 / 10
gavin6942
A partially idealized film of the controversial pornography publisher (Woody Harrelson) and how he became a defender of free speech for all people.Whether or not you like pornography or even care about it, this film is interesting and important. First, it makes the case that Flynt made: the First Amendment should be protected, even when the Amendment itself protects things we find objectionable. (Now, how much he believed this and how much it was a legal ploy is open to debate.) But he was also a big figure in America history, connecting in to Jimmy Carter, the AbScam case with the FBI, and various other important events. There was the question of organized crime connections. They are brushed aside here, but the question remains. When Flynt passes, the FBI files on him could be fascinating.
DerekTheCritic
Courtney Love is the worst part of this movie. She's terrible, hard to stomach, and can't act to save her life. THAT SAID....This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, and it really makes you think about what it means to live in the USA. For those of you out there reading this review who do not live in the USA, you've no doubt heard about how we Americans like to pride ourselves for being so freaking awesome... until someone points out how backwards and self-absorbed we really are. That's not to say Americans are bad (quite the contrary), but we definitely have a problem admitting when we're wrong. This movie makes no apologies, and goes straight for the jugular. And thanks to Milos Foreman, and Larry Flynt himself, this movie asks us to consider just how fundamental the right of free speech, and the freedom of expression, is to society. And yes, it relates to hardcore porn.Without delving too much into the technical aspects of the movie, let me just say that if you watch the Edward Norton courtroom scenes (the first where Larry Flynt himself is the judge, and the last one when he's arguing to the Supreme Court), and the epic speech our protagonist gives on "sex versus death," you are going to start developing opinions. It is going to make you think, and it might challenge your comfort zone. And for all those reasons, this movie is worth every moment of your time... including those painful scenes involving Courtney Love.I still think about this movie sometimes, whenever I hear people arguing about their First Amendment rights. Larry Flynt might not be a knight in shining armor, so to speak, but what he stands for is more than just porn - it's freedom of expression, and Americans have to accept that that doesn't necessarily mean something tame or conservative. It's an important lesson, and a movie that should not be missed.
lakewoodmatt67
"The People Vs. Larry Flynt" is a film that might make you angry, or it may make you glad that we, as Americans, have the most cherished right any person could ask for: The freedom to voice an opinion or an idea, regardless of how unpopular or unappealing it may be. So it is with the true story of Larry Flynt, notorious publisher of the porn magazine "Hustler". It is essential to know that at no time does "People vs. Larry Flynt" try to depict it's title character as a saint, or a hero, or even someone you'd take to a family picnic. Flynt, by his own admission, acknowledges that he, and his magazine and it's content is the most provocative and blatant of it's kind in the field of pornographic material. But even more importantly is Flynt's assertion that if the First Amendment can protect someone like him, then it can protect each and every one of us who call ourselves Americans and our citizens' rights, for which countless men have fought and died to preserve. (Just for the record, I myself don't particularly care for pornographic material, but that's MY choice. I do not want nor will I abide any federal, state or local government invading MY life, telling me what I CAN or CANNOT partake of. If you want to talk about obscenity, I put it to you, dear reader, that the most obscene act a government can perform is to control the thoughts and words and ideas of it's own people. To do so is to hearken back to the days of Hitler, and other "thought police" who attempted to regulate free speech and independent thought. OK, rant over.) As to the film itself, the easiest way to describe it is that this is a top notch biographical story, filled with five star performances all around. Woody Harrelson, playing Flynt, does perhaps some of his greatest film work. Ed Norton, who plays Flynt's attorney, turns in yet another stellar job, and Courtney Love, who plays Flynt's wife, dazzles us by displaying, ironically enough, most of the same qualities that actually made her infamous in her own personal life. In the context of this film, however, those negatives of Love are exactly what was needed to recreate this character. The story, in a nutshell, southern Ohio club owner Larry Flynt gets the bright idea to base a magazine off of the type of entertainment he provides at his clubs. The magazine becomes a sensation, but also a perpetual target of moralistic crusaders who believe that material such as that produced by Flynt has no place anywhere in society; at least, in their eyes at any rate. And there is the conflict which drives this movie. Obscenity vs. Free Speech. Director Milos Forman gives us both sides of this argument throughout the film, but drives home the point that "American freedom" includes allowing others to voice opinions or present concepts that, while offensive and repulsive to some, are still just as worthy of protection as any other American's right to say what he or she feels. We follow Larry and his contemporaries through the rags to riches journey, and the ensuing attacks upon it by those who sternly disagree based on their own personal tastes. And "personal taste" is subjective, and therefore cannot be regulated to only one viewpoint. Late in the film, Flynt's case is brought before no less then the Supreme Court, stemming from an earlier court battle with evangelist Jerry Falwell. The ensuing decision from the High Court, which I'll leave for you to see for yourself, defines the very nature of the prospect of freedom of speech, and more importantly, the most rudimentary of basic civil rights as we know them in the United States. Whether you like or hate Larry Flynt, Hustler Magazine, or pornography of any kind is irrelevant. What one must accept if they wish to abide by our constitution, is the inalienable right of every man and woman to be free individuals in terms of their opinions, expressions and thoughts. To do otherwise is a slap in the face to every person who has ever fought for the American way."The People Vs. Larry Flynt" is a magnificent tale of not just one man's fight for the freedom of speech, but the entire thought process of how strongly we wish to continue to be a free country.Watch it, and be glad you're an American with rights.
