Review of The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) by Brad S — 03 Jan 2013

An entertaining but far from complete biography of Larry Flynt - the famous owner of Hustler magazine. The film looks at his early life, his relationship with his wife Arthrea, his religious conversion, and an attempted assasination - a large percentage of the film is spent on his legal issues and most specifically his legal fight against Jerry Falwell.

The movie doesn't even mention that he was married four times and because it was made in 1996 his relationship with Falwell is incomplete. Strangely it appears as though there was a certain reconcilation between the two and that Flynt and Falwell actually became friends in the last decade of Falwell's life - so much so that Flynt sent Falwell diet plans in hopes that Falwell would lose wait.

As a result I think the movies charicture of Falwell may be a bit unfair. Certainly Falwell deserves many critiques, but his ability to reconcile with one of his worst enemies says something about his character that is not often acknowledged by his critics.

In any case the People vs. Larry Flynt is an interesting look into both the history of a porn mogul and the history of the United States. In many ways it reflects both the best and the worst of a powerful civilization.