At one point during the film "The People vs. Larry Flynt" a Supreme Court justice makes a statement similar to "The First Amendment is very important, but it isn't everything." But to Larry Flynt, freedom of speech is everything, becoming more and more important after other aspects of his life have been taken away from him.
In the movie's first half, "The People vs. Larry Flynt" plays as a comedy. Larry Flynt (Woody Harrelson) rises from small-time adult nightclub operator to the publisher of the sleaziest porn magazine, along the way marrying free-spirited lesbian Althea (Courtney Love). Much female naked flesh is paraded, but this is acceptable given the context of the film.
This leads to legal problems for Flynt, who is
prosecuted by cynical politicians. These
politicians seem more interested in putting Flynt
behind bars than in stopping his magazine, which
continues to flourish. Flynt does not help his
cause by antagonizing judges and prosecutors in
court. He becomes less interested in running a
magazine, and more interested in seeing what
behavior he can get away with under the
protection of free speech.
Flynt is paralyzed from the waist down by an
unknown assassin. This changes the nature of the
film, which becomes much weirder, as does Flynt
and Althea. Flynt's southern drawl becomes a
mixture of W. C. Fields and James Stewart, while
Althea's hair color is dyed multiple unnatural
colors.
"The People vs. Larry Flynt" is an excellent
film. I especially liked the variety of the
script: the roles of a tough federal judge, Jerry
Falwell, and Flynt's lawyer (Edward Norton) are
played straight with credible lines, while Flynt
and Althea can be as bizarre as, well, the First
Amendment allows. I am not an expert on the real
Larry Flynt's life, and I don't know how
accurately he is portrayed. I don't believe that
it is relevant. This film should be treated as
fiction, even if it has much basis in fact. I
don't think it glorifies Flynt, transforming a
porn peddler into a fighter for free speech.
Actually, the Flynt character is presented as a
jerk, and sometimes as a lunatic.
There are many standout performances here.
Richard Paul makes a perfect Jerry Falwell, and
Courtney Love is well-cast as Althea (can't see
her playing girl-next-door roles though). Norton
is fine as the intense, disapproving,
fresh-scrubbed lawyer for Flynt. Donna Hanover is
a convincing Ruth Carter Stapleton. Clinton
pit-bull James Carville even succeeds. Harrelson
is the only actor who gets a raspberry, camping
it up and talking as if he had marbles in his
mouth. He can be very funny delivering lines,
though. (80/100)
DVDS. "If the First Amendment will protect a scumbag like me, then it'll protect all of you -- 'cause I'm the worst," declares {~Hustler Magazine} pub...More at DeepDiscount.com
This is the true story of Larry Flynt, the outrageous Hustler magazine publisher who was sued by the Religious Right and paralyzed by an assassin s bu...More at Buy.com
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