The People Vs. Larry Flynt
3/4
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Bret Harrelson, Donna Hanover, James Cromwell, Richard Paul
Rated R for Strong Sexual Material, Nudity, Language and Drug Use
Next to Hugh Hefner, Larry Flynt is the most well-known (and in some circles, infamous) figure of the pornography industry. A staunch supporter of free speech and an unapologetic rabblerouser, Larry Flynt is not the easiest man to get along with. That said, he survived an assassination attempt and a landmark Supreme Court victory. This guy is one tough cookie.
Larry Flynt (Harrelson) started out in relatively humble beginnings. He was a moonshiner as a kid, and grew up to own a few strip clubs. But due to the laws at the time, his ability to spread the word about his business nearly caused him to go under. So he decided to print a newsletter, come hell or high water. That brought in the customers, but also incurred the wrath of Charles Keating (Cromwell), and important figurehead of the anti-pornography movement. But after he publishes nudie pics of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, the company takes off.
In addition to telling the story of an interesting, if not always likable, protagonist, the film takes time to discuss a number of issues. For example, when defending Flynt in his first charge of obscenity, Alan Isaacman (Norton), asks how we can deplore having nude women in a magazine while having photos of gruesome crime scenes on the news. Or how we can claim that what we say is free speech but not someone else's simply because we don't like them.
The performances are solid across the board. Woody Harrelson got his first Oscar nod for his performance as Larry Flynt. It's a good performance. In the first half, Larry is not really worldly and a little naiive. But as the film goes on, he gets smarter and more feisty. There are times when he seems to want to raise hell just to be an asshole. And yet, we're always on his side. Courtney Love, best known as Kurt Cobain's wife, is very good as Larry's love Althea. Drugged out or sexy, she always impresses. The always impressive Edward Norton (who took the role so he could work with Milos Forman) is very good as Alan Isaacman, Larry's much harried lawyer. The amount of abuse and humiliation he goes through because of Larry makes him a candidate for sainthood. Special mention has to go to Donna Hanover, who is wonderful as Ruth Carter Stapleton (who briefly converted Larry to Christianity) and Richard Paul, who is a dead ringer for Jerry Falwell.
For Milos Forman, this is a respectable, if basic, biopic. It does what it sets out to do, but there's really nothing unique about it. Compare it to his two most famous films, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Amadeus" and it comes up short (it's still better than "Goya's Ghost." Quite a bit in fact). Part of the reason is that the script, in addition to being a little flat, is too overstuffed. Two hours is not nearly enough to cover a story that takes place over 20 years when Forman tries to include everything that happened to Flynt. "Milk" worked because it narrowed its focus. In fact, there are times when the editing is so sloppy that I thought that there were scenes missing. The film could have used a little bit more room to breathe (Charles Keating in particular is undeveloped, and for an actor of James Cromwell's stature, one would have thought that he would have had a more important role).
This is not a bad movie and recommend it without reservations. It's a little slow to get going, but once the assassination attempt occurs (about halfway through), the film really takes off.
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Bret Harrelson, Donna Hanover, James Cromwell, Richard Paul
Rated R for Strong Sexual Material, Nudity, Language and Drug Use
Next to Hugh Hefner, Larry Flynt is the most well-known (and in some circles, infamous) figure of the pornography industry. A staunch supporter of free speech and an unapologetic rabblerouser, Larry Flynt is not the easiest man to get along with. That said, he survived an assassination attempt and a landmark Supreme Court victory. This guy is one tough cookie.
Larry Flynt (Harrelson) started out in relatively humble beginnings. He was a moonshiner as a kid, and grew up to own a few strip clubs. But due to the laws at the time, his ability to spread the word about his business nearly caused him to go under. So he decided to print a newsletter, come hell or high water. That brought in the customers, but also incurred the wrath of Charles Keating (Cromwell), and important figurehead of the anti-pornography movement. But after he publishes nudie pics of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, the company takes off.
In addition to telling the story of an interesting, if not always likable, protagonist, the film takes time to discuss a number of issues. For example, when defending Flynt in his first charge of obscenity, Alan Isaacman (Norton), asks how we can deplore having nude women in a magazine while having photos of gruesome crime scenes on the news. Or how we can claim that what we say is free speech but not someone else's simply because we don't like them.
The performances are solid across the board. Woody Harrelson got his first Oscar nod for his performance as Larry Flynt. It's a good performance. In the first half, Larry is not really worldly and a little naiive. But as the film goes on, he gets smarter and more feisty. There are times when he seems to want to raise hell just to be an asshole. And yet, we're always on his side. Courtney Love, best known as Kurt Cobain's wife, is very good as Larry's love Althea. Drugged out or sexy, she always impresses. The always impressive Edward Norton (who took the role so he could work with Milos Forman) is very good as Alan Isaacman, Larry's much harried lawyer. The amount of abuse and humiliation he goes through because of Larry makes him a candidate for sainthood. Special mention has to go to Donna Hanover, who is wonderful as Ruth Carter Stapleton (who briefly converted Larry to Christianity) and Richard Paul, who is a dead ringer for Jerry Falwell.
For Milos Forman, this is a respectable, if basic, biopic. It does what it sets out to do, but there's really nothing unique about it. Compare it to his two most famous films, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Amadeus" and it comes up short (it's still better than "Goya's Ghost." Quite a bit in fact). Part of the reason is that the script, in addition to being a little flat, is too overstuffed. Two hours is not nearly enough to cover a story that takes place over 20 years when Forman tries to include everything that happened to Flynt. "Milk" worked because it narrowed its focus. In fact, there are times when the editing is so sloppy that I thought that there were scenes missing. The film could have used a little bit more room to breathe (Charles Keating in particular is undeveloped, and for an actor of James Cromwell's stature, one would have thought that he would have had a more important role).
This is not a bad movie and recommend it without reservations. It's a little slow to get going, but once the assassination attempt occurs (about halfway through), the film really takes off.
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