Wordiezett So much average

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Brent Burkwell Not worth my time, Flynt was a pig, period. He wasn't fighting for your free speech you losers, he was fighting because in porn, there is a lot of money, for men like him. He makes whores out of people, then he gets most of the money, they usually contract a disease. Read the history,wake up, liberalism is a lie. This movie should sit well with filthy liberals, but decent people will avoid it. -20 stars.

crendine I have to admit that seeing Woody Harelson in "Cheers" and "White Men Can't Jump", it was very difficult to take him seriously as an actor. However, his nomination for Best Actor in this movie prompted me to give it a try and I have to say : He was absolutely brilliant. The story itself, subplots, flow, and the production were all very well done. Woody's portrayal of the controversial publisher was a method actor's performance which still amazes me to this day. His character perceptions were very deep and convincing. Also of note: Edward Norton and Courtney Love turn in outstanding supporting performances. Definitely worth seeing and probably owning.

Scott LeBrun "The People vs. Larry Flynt" tells the story of self-proclaimed "smut peddler" Larry Flynt, an entrepreneur who was quick to capitalize on the predilection for sex and sexy things in American culture. He knew it was a natural part of life, yet naturally came under fire from conservative and religious leaders who were convinced that his product poisoned minds.Played as a thoroughly unpredictable, off the wall character by Woody Harrelson, who delivers a truly tour de force performance, Larry finds it a constant battle to keep his magazine, "Hustler", on the stands, and is always obliged to defend his choice of material. It falls to his long-suffering lawyer, Alan Isaacman (an excellent Edward Norton) to go to bat for the publisher, which proves to be a challenge given Larry's antics in court.All of the acting, really, is first-rate in this compelling biographical drama. It's deliberately paced but masterfully crafted by filmmaker Milos Forman ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "Amadeus", et al). Harrelson and Norton form a solid star trio with rock celebrity Courtney Love, who shows off some real chops as Althea, Larry's free spirited wife. Many familiar faces in the large ensemble include James Cromwell, Crispin Glover, James Carville, Donna Hanover, Vincent Schiavelli, Miles Chapin, Oliver Reed, and Norm MacDonald. Larry's brother is played by Harrelson's own sibling Brett; the real Flynt has a cameo as a Cincinnati court judge.The film doesn't go into a lot of detail on Flynt's life, showing a brief childhood vignette, then cutting to his life in adult entertainment. Still, it covers a fair bit of ground, including his unconventional marriage to Althea, the incident wherein he was wounded and crippled by an assassin's bullet, and the lawsuit filed against him by religious leader Jerry Falwell (Richard Paul). Particularly engrossing is Nortons' true showcase scene at the climax when Alan is arguing Larry's case in front of the Supreme Court.Regardless of how one feels about Larry's line of work - even Alan admits he doesn't necessarily like what the man does - this is as good a drama about First Amendment rights as one will ever see, and an interesting examination of matters of taste vs. matters of law.Eight out of 10.

lakewoodmatt67 "The People Vs. Larry Flynt" is a film that might make you angry, or it may make you glad that we, as Americans, have the most cherished right any person could ask for: The freedom to voice an opinion or an idea, regardless of how unpopular or unappealing it may be. So it is with the true story of Larry Flynt, notorious publisher of the porn magazine "Hustler". It is essential to know that at no time does "People vs. Larry Flynt" try to depict it's title character as a saint, or a hero, or even someone you'd take to a family picnic. Flynt, by his own admission, acknowledges that he, and his magazine and it's content is the most provocative and blatant of it's kind in the field of pornographic material. But even more importantly is Flynt's assertion that if the First Amendment can protect someone like him, then it can protect each and every one of us who call ourselves Americans and our citizens' rights, for which countless men have fought and died to preserve. (Just for the record, I myself don't particularly care for pornographic material, but that's MY choice. I do not want nor will I abide any federal, state or local government invading MY life, telling me what I CAN or CANNOT partake of. If you want to talk about obscenity, I put it to you, dear reader, that the most obscene act a government can perform is to control the thoughts and words and ideas of it's own people. To do so is to hearken back to the days of Hitler, and other "thought police" who attempted to regulate free speech and independent thought. OK, rant over.) As to the film itself, the easiest way to describe it is that this is a top notch biographical story, filled with five star performances all around. Woody Harrelson, playing Flynt, does perhaps some of his greatest film work. Ed Norton, who plays Flynt's attorney, turns in yet another stellar job, and Courtney Love, who plays Flynt's wife, dazzles us by displaying, ironically enough, most of the same qualities that actually made her infamous in her own personal life. In the context of this film, however, those negatives of Love are exactly what was needed to recreate this character. The story, in a nutshell, southern Ohio club owner Larry Flynt gets the bright idea to base a magazine off of the type of entertainment he provides at his clubs. The magazine becomes a sensation, but also a perpetual target of moralistic crusaders who believe that material such as that produced by Flynt has no place anywhere in society; at least, in their eyes at any rate. And there is the conflict which drives this movie. Obscenity vs. Free Speech. Director Milos Forman gives us both sides of this argument throughout the film, but drives home the point that "American freedom" includes allowing others to voice opinions or present concepts that, while offensive and repulsive to some, are still just as worthy of protection as any other American's right to say what he or she feels. We follow Larry and his contemporaries through the rags to riches journey, and the ensuing attacks upon it by those who sternly disagree based on their own personal tastes. And "personal taste" is subjective, and therefore cannot be regulated to only one viewpoint. Late in the film, Flynt's case is brought before no less then the Supreme Court, stemming from an earlier court battle with evangelist Jerry Falwell. The ensuing decision from the High Court, which I'll leave for you to see for yourself, defines the very nature of the prospect of freedom of speech, and more importantly, the most rudimentary of basic civil rights as we know them in the United States. Whether you like or hate Larry Flynt, Hustler Magazine, or pornography of any kind is irrelevant. What one must accept if they wish to abide by our constitution, is the inalienable right of every man and woman to be free individuals in terms of their opinions, expressions and thoughts. To do otherwise is a slap in the face to every person who has ever fought for the American way."The People Vs. Larry Flynt" is a magnificent tale of not just one man's fight for the freedom of speech, but the entire thought process of how strongly we wish to continue to be a free country.Watch it, and be glad you're an American with rights.