The People vs. Larry Flynt

The People vs. Larry Flynt
Theatrical release poster featuring the Flag of the United States
Directed by	Miloš Forman
Written by	Scott Alexander Larry Karaszewski
Produced by	Oliver Stone Janet Yang Michael Hausman
Starring	Woody Harrelson Courtney Love Edward Norton
Cinematography	Philippe Rousselot
Edited by	Christopher Tellefsen
Music by	Thomas Newman
Production companies	Columbia Pictures Phoenix Pictures
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date	October 13, 1996 (1996-10-13) (NYFF) December 25, 1996 (1996-12-25) (United States)
Running time	130 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$35 million[2]
Box office	$43 million[3]

The People vs. Larry Flynt is a 1996 American biographical drama film directed by Miloš Forman and starring Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, and Edward Norton. It chronicles the rise of pornographer Larry Flynt and his subsequent clash with religious institutions and the law.^[4]

The film, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, spans about 35 years of Flynt's life, from his impoverished upbringing in Kentucky to his court battle with Reverend Jerry Falwell, and is based in part on the U.S. Supreme Court case Hustler Magazine v. Falwell. Though not a financial success, The People vs. Larry Flynt was lauded by critics. It garnered Harrelson, Love, Norton and Forman multiple accolades and award nominations, including nominations for an Best Actor for Harrelson and Best Director for Forman at the 69th Academy Awards.

Plot[]

In 1952, 10-year-old Larry Flynt is selling moonshine in Kentucky. Twenty years later, Flynt and his younger brother, Jimmy, run the Hustler Go-Go club in Cincinnati. With profits down, Flynt decides to publish a newsletter for the club, the first Hustler magazine, with nude pictures of women working at the club. The newsletter soon becomes a full-fledged magazine, but sales are weak. After Hustler publishes nude pictures of former first lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis in 1972, sales take off.

Flynt becomes smitten with Althea Leasure, a stripper who works at one of his clubs. With Althea and Jimmy's help, Flynt makes a fortune from sales of Hustler. With his success comes enemies – as he finds himself a hated figure of anti-pornography activists. He argues with the activists, saying that "murder is illegal, but if you take a picture of it, you may get your name in a magazine or maybe win a Pulitzer Prize. However, sex is legal, but if you take a picture of that act, you can go to jail." He becomes involved in several prominent court cases, and befriends a young lawyer, Alan Isaacman. In 1975, Flynt loses a smut-peddling court decision in Cincinnati, but the decision is overturned on appeal; he is released from jail soon afterwards. Ruth Carter Stapleton, a Christian activist and sister of President Jimmy Carter, seeks out Flynt and urges him to give his life to Jesus. Flynt seems moved and starts letting his newfound religion influence everything in his life, including Hustler content.

In 1978, during another trial in Georgia, Flynt and Isaacman are both shot by a man with a rifle while they walk outside a courthouse. Isaacman recovers, but Flynt is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Wishing he was dead, Flynt renounces God. Because of the emotional and physical pain, he moves to Beverly Hills and spirals down into depression and drug use. During this time, Althea also becomes addicted to painkillers and morphine.

In 1983, Flynt undergoes surgery to deaden several nerves in his back damaged by the bullet wounds, and as a result, feels rejuvenated. He returns to an active role with the publication, which, in his absence, had been run by Althea and Jimmy. Flynt is soon in court again for leaking videos relating to the John DeLorean entrapment case, and during his courtroom antics, he fires Isaacman, then throws an orange at the judge. He later wears an American flag as an adult diaper along with an Army helmet, and wears T-shirts with provocative messages such as "I Wish I Was Black" and "Fuck This Court." After spitting water at the judge Flynt is sent to a psychiatric ward, where he sinks into depression again. Flynt publishes a satirical parody ad in which Jerry Falwell tells of a sexual encounter with his mother. Falwell sues for libel and emotional distress. Flynt countersues for copyright infringement, because Falwell copied his ad and used it to raise funds for his legal bills. The case goes to trial in December 1984, but the decision is mixed, as Flynt is found guilty of inflicting emotional distress but not libel. By that time, Althea has contracted HIV, which proceeds to AIDS. Some time later in 1987, Flynt finds her dead in the bathtub, having drowned.

Flynt presses Isaacman to appeal the Falwell decision to the Supreme Court of the United States. Isaacman refuses, saying Flynt's courtroom antics humiliated him. Flynt pleads with him, saying that he "wants to be remembered for something meaningful". Isaacman agrees and argues the "emotional distress" decision in front of the Supreme Court, in the case Hustler Magazine v. Falwell in 1988. With Flynt sitting silently in the courtroom, the court overturns the original verdict in a unanimous decision. After the trial, Flynt is alone in his bedroom watching old videotapes of a healthy Althea.

Cast[]

Both Bill Murray and Tom Hanks were considered for the role of Flynt.^[5][6]

Reception[]

Based on 56 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval rating of 88%, with an average score of 7.70/10. The site's consensus states, "The People vs. Larry Flynt pays entertaining tribute to an irascible iconoclast with a well-constructed biopic that openly acknowledges his troublesome flaws."^[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[8]

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Box office[]

The film opened on December 25, 1996 in a limited release, in 16 theatres, where it was a hit, before expanding to wide release, 1,233 theatres, on January 10, 1997.^[9] The film eventually grossed $20,300,385 in the United States and Canada.^[10] Internationally it did better grossing $23 million, for a worldwide total of $43 million against a $35 million budget.^[3][2]

Accolades[]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

• 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:
  • Nominated Courtroom Drama Film^[11]

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: The People vs. Larry Flynt

• The People vs. Larry Flynt at IMDb
• The People vs. Larry Flynt at the TCM Movie Database
• The People vs. Larry Flynt at Box Office Mojo
• The People vs. Larry Flynt at Rotten Tomatoes
• The People vs. Larry Flynt at Metacritic