Review of The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) by Ben F — 01 Mar 2011

There is a specific reason as to why "The People vs. Larry Flynt" is such an awesome movie. The reason is that it reflects it's message completely onto someone who is watching the film. What's the message? Personal rights. Though on it's outer core the movie might seem to a common viewer as raunchy, this is not necessarily the case. Yes the film might have attitude, but it serves a bigger purpose. Some people might not like what Larry Flynt does, but it's without a doubt his constitutional right to do what he does.

The film just goes through Larry Flynt's rise to success with his publication of "Hustler", the famous porno magazine, and his fall from grace. Most of the film centers around Flynt's court appearances, with Edward Norton playing his lawyer. The rest of the movie revolves around Flynt's relations with his wife (played by Courtney Love). The story is solid. It seems to be an accurate depiction of what actually took place. It's awesome.

The performances are without a doubt what make the movie. I thought that Woodey Harelson was phenomenal in this movie. I have always found him to be one of the best actors out there, and I'd like to see more of him. He spends most of his time playing supporting characters, but I think that he should tackle a lot more leading rolls, because he has the talent without a doubt. A lot of the time, he's better than the leading actor in the film. In any event, he was fantastic here. Edward Norton did a pretty good job as his lawyer, but he wasn't anything special. Courtney Love was kind of annoying in my opinion, but she played her character well, because I feel like she was sort of playing herself.

The reason I love the movie so much is because it just has so much...balls. It's really got this audacious style to it, and Forman's directing is what's responsible for it. He did a great job with this movie without a doubt. Like I said earlier, the message of the movie goes hand in hand with the film's overall composition. It's great.

I don't really have anything more to say, except that whoever's reading this review should see this movie if they haven't. I believe it was one of the best films of the 90's hands down. Woodey Harrelson was phenomenal, and the fundamental principles that are underlined in the premise of "The People vs. Larry Flynt" will have you thinking about the movie long after it's over.