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Movies / On DVD / The People Vs. Larry Flynt
The People Vs. Larry Flynt

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The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

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Reviews Counted:53

Fresh:46

Rotten:7

Average Rating:7.7/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: In THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, Milos Forman expertly directs the viewer's sympathy toward Larry Flynt (Woody Harrelson in a superb performance): smut peddler, misogynist, and Editor in Chief of the... In THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, Milos Forman expertly directs the viewer's sympathy toward Larry Flynt (Woody Harrelson in a superb performance): smut peddler, misogynist, and Editor in Chief of the infamous Hustler magazine. Born in the back woods of Appalachia, the young Flynt--in an opening scene that immediately grabs and amuses--is seen selling moonshine as a child to alcoholic hermits. Flash forward to the 1960s, and he's running a go-go club where he meets the wild (and strangely loveable) Althea Leasure (Courtney Love) who becomes his soul mate and wife. Life is not as sweet as it first seems for the porn king who finds a massive readership for his magazine (the first to show crotch shots). He soon finds himself in the middle of several Supreme Court law suits, and also as an assassin's target. While Flynt's various outrageous meetings with self-righteous Reverend Jerry Falwell (Richard Paul) and devout Christian Ruth Carter Stapleton (President Jimmy Carter's sister, played by Rudolph Giuliani's ex-wife Donna Hanover) are hilarious and smartly pointed, it is perhaps the touching, and ultimately tragic, love story between him and Althea that make him very human, and very interesting to watch. [More]

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Miles Chapin

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Miles Chapin, Vincent Schiavelli, Donna Hanover, Crispin Glover, James Cromwell, Richard Paul, Brett Harrelson, James Carville

Director: Milos Forman

Director: Milos Forman
Screenwriter: Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander
Producer: Oliver Stone, Janet Yang, Michael Hausman
Composer: Thomas Newman

[See More Credits]

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Release:

May 6, 2003

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Reviews for The People Vs. Larry Flynt

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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The movie is a lot of fun for long stretches.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

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.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

A 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.

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
06/30/08
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Very entertaining.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
05/05/03
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

You don't have to like the man to support his struggles and enjoy this dramatization of them.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Wow. Courtney Love can act.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

I dug it.

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
05/30/03
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

Like 12 Angry Men, it's a civics lesson that will still be regaling film enthusiasts four decades hence.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The screenplay, by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, is rich in detail and dialogue.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Proof that you can find patriotism in the most unlikely of places.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
07/25/04
Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Austin Chronicle

Funny, fascinating, and maybe just a little unsettling.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
09/15/05
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

Love proves she is not a rock star pretending to act, but a true actress, and Harrelson matches her with his portrait of a man who has one thing on his mind, and never changes it.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
07/01/04
Judith Egerton
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

It's a whitewash. But what a charming whitewash, and for what a good cause.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

A substantive, specific and occasionally rowdy commentary on U.S. culture.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia City Paper | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Philadelphia City Paper

Both Harrelson and Love are fabulous.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

An exultant comedy of American repression and revolt.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
06/30/08
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I sincerely hope The People Versus Larry Flynt goes all the way and wins the Academy Award.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Chris Gore
Chris Gore
Film Threat

Thanks to the light humour, it's consistently engaging; yet minus that darker shading, it's never fully convincing.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/12/02
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Whitewashing the truth is a forgivable sin in the world of biopics, but to demean ideologies by remaining "balanced" is cowardly.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
05/16/03
Eric Henderson
Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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