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DVD The People vs. Larry Flynt (Special Edition)
If the title sounds a bit dry and grim, don't worry--this movie is anything but. How could it be, with a cast that includes Woody Harrelson as Larry Flynt, Courtney Love as his bisexual junkie wife Althea, and Edward Norton as a composite of their lawyers? Director Milos Forman brings his trademark offbeat humor and affection for vividly defined, marginal characters to a biography of the notorious founder of the Hustler magazine empire. Unlike Hugh Hefner at Playboy, or even Bob Guccione at Penthouse, Flynt had no upscale pretensions. He made Hustler as raunchy, tasteless, and offensive as he could, and America both bought the publication and despised him for it. Although presented as a kind of live-action political cartoon, the movie presents the incredible true story of how a backwards backwoods Kentucky boy made a fortune selling smut in the American heartland, was repeatedly jailed for obscenity, paralyzed by a sniper's bullet, got zonked out of his mind on painkillers, and yet wound up with a landmark freedom of speech case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Forman, who left the political repression of his native Czechoslovakia in 1968 after the Soviet invasion, has described his ebullient (but serious) American comedy as a celebration of the First Amendment, and you can feel his perverse delight shining through in every scene. He convinces us that any constitution that protects the rights of a vulgar pariah like Flynt isn't a failure; it is a cause for rejoicing. Flynt represents the price of freedom, and it is a price well worth paying. The screenplay by Ed Wood writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who seem to excel at creating ambivalent portraits of disreputable figures, entertainingly explores the contradictory emotions and complex moral dilemmas that the Bill of Rights was meant to inspire--as if Frank Capra had been a card-carrying member of the ACLU. --Jim Emerson
Review(s): DVD The People vs. Larry Flynt (Special Edition)
Controversy At Its Finest
"The People Vs. Larry Flint" is one of the most controversial releases of 1996, starring Woody Harrelson, Edward Norton, and Courtney Love. It earned two Oscar nominations and two Golden Globe wins. This real-life film wonderfully desplicts Larry Flint's struggle to publish "Hustler", a sexually explicit magazine. He risks his freedom to prove that the bans violate the First Amendment on the US Bill of Rights, which is freedom of speech. Through every step, he causes tremendous controversy throughout the country. Some love him, some hate him. Either way, nobody can get enough of him. The plot is brilliant. The daring material expressed deserves tremendous respect for doing what few writers have dared. The climatic story keeps audiences interested in every scene, always wondering what Flint will say or do next. The unexpected events keep the energy intact. His eccentric behavior adds a more interesting flavor to the film.
Woody Harrelson and Courtney Love prove that they were made for their roles. Harrelson's Oscar nominated performance as Larry Flint is the best in his career. Nobody else could have played Flint better. Love makes a triumphant film debut in her Golden Globe nominated role as Athena, Flint's wife. Her erratic behavior is wonderfully displayed through every scene. Athena's life struggles are beautifully expressed. Edward Norton's role as Flint's lawyer is beautifully performed. All other performers also acted their roles wonderfully.
"The People Vs. Larry Flint" is a great film for those looking for something risque. This is sure to please audiences of all kinds.
A thoroughly enGROSSing Film.
WOW!! Here's a film that takes completely unsympathetic characters, and yet, makes us care about them. No small task for Milos Forman as director, but casting this film with Woody Harrelson and Courtney Love as Larry and Althea Flynt respectively, was sheer brilliance. .............. Woody Harrelson gives a knockout performance as formidable pornographer and publisher of the controversial "Hustler" Magazine. We meet him as a little backwoods boy selling moonshine with his brother, then a grown-up Larry selling a peek at bare-naked ladies, first in the flesh, and later in print, as he starts his publishing empire with his brother. I thought that casting Woody's REAL life brother, Brett Harrelson, as his brother in the movie, was a terrific touch. ............. Speaking of authenticity, a role has never been so perfect for anyone like the role of Althea Flynt was for actress/musician Courtney Love. I think she is a fascinating dynamic personality, and that works for her extraordinarily well on the screen here. From the moment she saunters out onto the stage to strip for Larry in the beginning, and for every moment she appears on screen through the end, she is truly mesmerizing and captivating. Love accurately captures the innate self-destructiveness of Althea that comes to fruition once Larry is paralyzed. When he recieves heavy narcotic pain killers by injection, she decides to partake as well, while injecting him. We have to assume she was seeking a substitute for the physical pleasures she and a paralyzed Larry, could no longer share. A little timeline shows us how several years go by. When the bedroom vault they've been holed up in opens, Althea is a stumbling, drug addicted, disheveled, punk caricature of her former attractive strong self. Love is SO great in her portrayal of this tragic figure, it is a crime she didn't win an award. She certainly deserves one for this outstanding performance. It's particularly funny, when Larry has the Delorean tapes, and an FBI agent comes to the door to see them. Althea opens up, bedraggled and wasted. When she tells the agent SHES Mrs. Flynt, the look of disbelief on his face is hilarious. We all know how the story ends, but in the film, the details are tactfully left out. Viewers can easily draw their own conclusions anyway. ................. Donna Hanover, ex-wife of ex-NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani, gives a brief yet sincere performance as Ruth Carter Stapleton, evangelistic sister of former president Jimmy Carter. She gets Larry interested in rebirth through religion, but the "epiphany" he experiences, is shattered by a snipers bullet. ............Edward Norton turns in a convincing portrayal of Larry's long suffering lawyer. Particularly amusing are the scenes where Larry at his most ornery, goes up against Jerry Falwell, or, as he unfondly and hilariously refers to him "Fartwell." You find yourself cheering for Larry as Norton fights for his clients ammendment rights. ...............There is no doubt that this film is not for the prudish, or the devout. There is much to be offended by when a story is based on a man such as Larry Flynt. If you are a person who might find this story, or its contents offensive, then you know who you are, and you know it's not for you. ..............For the rest of us, whether we like Flynt or not, there are parts of this film that will make you want to cheer, or even cry in sympathy when Larry loses what matters the most to him. When a film can make you CARE about unsympathetic characters, you KNOW you've experienced quality filmaking. ............... At the very least, I am sure you WILL be entertained by this excellent and highly fascinating biopic.
LARRY FLYNT: DEMOCRAT
When Ronald Reagan became the President, a shift to conservatism occurred in Hollywood and the media. Hustler founder Larry Flynt flirted with Christianity, but it did not take. When his editors suggested that the Reagan mood should portend more "family friendly" fare, Flynt fired that messenger and went from sick and disgusting to really hardcore porn (which is better than sick and disgusting). He aligned himself against the Republicans, who were asking 7-11s to keep their porn mags away from minors (a move since described by liberals as tantamount to Stalinist censorship). In 1998, Flynt became the mouthpiece of the Democrat party, a de facto Clinton spokesman and unofficial public relations firm for the DNC. In 2003 he decided to run for Governor of California as a Democrat. While his intentions may be to benefit the Democrats, he could not have harmed them more. Republicans need say nothing about this fact. It exists for what it is, on it face. Republicans just smile and say, "Hey, you Democrats, you can have Larry Flynt." They have him and he has them. A mariage made in...?
STEVEN TRAVERS AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN" STWRITES@AOL.COM
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