The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 53
Fresh: 46 | Rotten: 7
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Critic Reviews: 16
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 3
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 42,928
My Rating
Movie Info
"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 publisher Larry Flynt (as played by Woody Harrelson) in the midst of one of his many court cases. Milos Forman's film follows Flynt from his childhood in Kentucky, where he made extra money for his dirt-poor family by selling the moonshine his father brewed, into adulthood as he manages a strip club in Cincinnati. While the club does middling business, the
Dec 25, 1996 Wide
Jan 1, 1998
Columbia Pictures
Watch It Now
Cast
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Woody Harrelson
Larry Flynt -
Courtney Love
Althea Flynt -
Edward Norton
Alan Isaacman -
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Crispin Glover
Arlo -
-
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Brett Harrelson
Jimmy Flint -
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Richard Paul
Rev. Jerry Falwell
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All Critics (55) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (47) | Rotten (7) | DVD (12)
An exultant comedy of American repression and revolt.
Top CriticA brave, spectacularly entertaining -- and unexpectedly stirring -- account of Flynt's life that asks us to regard the publisher of Hustler magazine as an invaluable champion of our First Amendment freedoms.
One of the truly bizarre careers in recent American cultural life provides the source of tart and tasty amusement in The People vs. Larry Flynt.
Woody Harrelson plays Flynt with energy, and Courtney Love does at least as well as his wife.
We're really celebrating Hollywood's freedom to create biographies of anyone, no matter how high or low on the social ladder, and still come up with the same banal characteristics, messages and conclusions.
The exploitative misogyny of Flynt's output is never examined, the prurient hypocrisy and intolerance of his persecutors seriously overplayed, plus Larry and Althea's odd romance lacks bittersweet conviction.
Long after you've grown tired of his escapades, the scenes in which he and Althea support one another against the slings an arrows of outrageous fortune are touching and, ultimately, genuinely tragic.
Surprisingly mundane, given the central figure, The People vs. Larry Flynt puts the "lesson" in "civics lesson."
The movie is a lot of fun for long stretches.
I sincerely hope The People Versus Larry Flynt goes all the way and wins the Academy Award.
Funny, fascinating, and maybe just a little unsettling.
Great.
The screenplay, by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, is rich in detail and dialogue.
Proof that you can find patriotism in the most unlikely of places.
The latest movie from the great director Milos Forman is a sensational, irreverent docudrama. And, as they say in the porno trade, it's adult entertainment.
I dug it.
Whitewashing the truth is a forgivable sin in the world of biopics, but to demean ideologies by remaining "balanced" is cowardly.
Audience Reviews for The People Vs. Larry Flynt
Super Reviewer
It is the story of Larry Flynt's pornographic films and magazines; most notably Hustler which really made him the entrepreneur he is. Flynt loses the use of his legs due to an assassination attempt confining him to a wheelchair.
Woody Harrelson stars as Larry Flynt and turns in a fine piece of character work. The brilliant Edward Norton portrays his lawyer Alan Isaacman which allows for first rate acting on both counts. And I must mention Courtney Love's brilliant portrayal of Flynt's drug addicted wife Althea.
I think one thing that gives this film it's strength is that it proves the point of the industry that is often frowned upon, but is within the rights of every citizen should they wish to be involved in it.
"If the First Amendment will protect a scumbag like me, it'll protect all of you- 'cause I'm the worst." Larry Flynt
Super Reviewer
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Foreign Titles
- Larry Flynt (FR)
