Flick of The Day: The People Vs Larry Flynt

Biographical films or Biopics are a very hit and miss affair, their success as a film depends greatly on the subject. There has to be an entertaining story to tell or else it can be a very dull affair, I'm thinking of the likes of Amadeus or Casino Jack. The subject need not be likeable, the success of Raging Bull attests to this, and today's flick of the day is just such a film, The People Vs Larry Flynt, telling the varied life and times of American pornographer, Larry Flynt.

The People vs. Larry Flynt [Blu-ray]

The film opens in 1953, in dirt poor rural Kentucky, where a young Larry brews and sells moonshine to help his family before moving forward to Cleveland in 1973, where Flynt is a small time strip club owner played in a career best performance by Woody Harrelson. Losing money hand over fist, he decides to create a newsletter to advertise his club, and Hustler magazine is born. A self styled down to earth alternative to Playboy, Flynt becomes a millionaire overnight. Along the way he meets and falls in love with a stripper named Althea, played with abandon by Courtney Love. In and of itself, this would not make for a compelling picture, however due to his ability to push the boundaries of good taste and an unwillingness to back down, he soon becomes the subject of a crusade from the Christian right to have him shut down, led by James Cromwell  as the kind of narcissistic book burner that could only be found in the American mid-west. Flynt becomes a devotee of his right to free speech and aided by his crusading lawyer played by Edward Norton, he travels the country defending his magazine in courtrooms and in the media. It is on one of these trips that he is the victim, along with his lawyer of an assassins bullet. This radically alters his life leaving him paralysed from the waist down, and his antics from thereon are a corollary of this. As the film moves to a conclusion, both in his life and his legal struggles, it is both heartfelt and moving at times and regardless of your opinion of the man, it makes for compelling viewing.

Director Milos Forman, perhaps best remembered for his film version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, has crafted a unique film here. A strong script is backed up by some very fine performances from Harrelson, Norton and particularly Courtney Love.

Blow Dried Jerk: Uh, Mr. Flynt? I don't wanna step on your toes but things have changed since you were actively running the company. I mean I look back at the stuff you did in the 70s and it was uh sorta racy and crazy. But the country is different now. Reagan has rebuilt America and the moral majority is gaining power. 

Larry Flynt: You're fired. 

Blow Dried Jerk: Excuse me? 

Larry Flynt: You get the fuck out of my building. Doug get him out of here. You blow dryed jerk mother fucker. Take him out of here and throw him in the incinerator, cut him to little pieces and feed him to the animals out there. Get out of here.

Ultimately though, the film is carried by Harrelson in a very entertaining performance. Perhaps it is favourable direction, but Flynt's no nonsense approach to life and his home spun patriotism make him a likeable if not endearing figure. 

If the First Amendment will protect a scumbag like me, it will protect all of you

An enjoyable and thought provoking film, anchored by some great acting, this is well worth a viewing regardless of your opinion of Larry Flynt. It garnered a number of Oscar nominations upon its release for Forman and Harrelson, it lost out in a year dominated by Anthony Minghella's The English Patient.