The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

Directed by Miloš Forman. Starring Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Brett Harrelson, Richard Paul, Donna Hanover, Crispin Glover, Vincent Schiavelli, Miles Chapin, James Cromwell, James Carville, Bert Neuborne. [R]

Raucously entertaining portrait of Larry Flynt (Harrelson), the successful smut publisher best known for creating Hustler magazine in the 1970s to supplement profits for his struggling Cincinnati strip club. An unlikely film about the unlikeliest of heroes—not for his peddling of pornography, but for his refusal to back down from self-righteous bullies and legal threats while fighting for his First Amendment rights. He may not physically resemble the figure he plays, but Harrelson’s dynamic central performance certainly transforms the obnoxious, controversial man into someone that’s actually fun to be around for two-plus hours; he’s matched by credible, touching (and surprisingly versatile) work by Love as his drug-addled ex-stripper wife, and Norton’s weary sincerity in playing Flynt’s long-suffering lawyer who doesn’t agree with what his client does, but sticks by him anyway (per Flynt: “You don’t want to quit me…I’m your dream client. I’m the most fun, I’m rich, and I’m always in trouble.”). Skims its subjects at times while covering a lot of ground (including an ultimately unnecessary prologue of his childhood as the son of a Kentucky moonshiner), never gaining sure footing during his born-again phase—one is left to wonder: precisely how authentic was it? But it’s still a very satisfying overview, and the climactic scene in front of the Supreme Court makes for a riveting argument. Flynt himself cameos as an antagonistic judge, and Norm Macdonald has a small role as a reporter.

85/100