Best movie of this year hands down!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Watching the picture when I did the other night, I was more impressed by the consistent argument for freedom of speech than anything having to do with pictures of nude women and scandalous cartoons. Here we are a couple of decades after the picture was made and the liberal left in the country is hell bent on shutting down the expression of any ideas that are detrimental to their agenda. And don't even get me started on the snowflake generation that needs soft, furry animals close by to ease the stress of taking exams or hearing things that might upset their fragile, little egos. I would never have considered that this was such an important film, but there were some real eye openers in the story of Larry Flynt, self styled smut peddler and businessman extraordinaire. Having his name and legal entanglements constantly popping up in the news back in the Seventies and Eighties, it was easy enough to dismiss him as a nut case who needed to be brought down a peg or two. But the guy was articulate in his own way, and his impassioned arguments in the service of freedom of speech and liberty in general makes one sit up and take notice. Woody Harrelson may not have been my first choice to portray Flynt, but he did a remarkable job throughout. What probably aggravated me the most in the picture was when Flynt first went on trial for pandering obscenity. It was pretty clear that the court's decision would have been decided beforehand when the judge ruled every other pornographic magazine available at the time to be irrelevant. It would take the Supreme Court to rule favorably on one's right to express an unpopular opinion, even if it offended the majority. As long as that Constitutional principal holds, I think the country can withstand the likes of people like Larry Flynt, abhorrent as they might seem to the average person.

The People VS Larry Flynt (1996): Dir: Milos Foreman / Cast: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, James Cromwell, Richard Paul: Rousing film about Larry Flynt and his constant battle with society and what is morally acceptable. He is the creator of Hustler magazine, which rivals Playboy in its pornographic expectations. He argues that the female body should not be disregarded but lands in court on numerous occasions. Eventually he ends up in a wheelchair after an attempt is taken on his life. He lands in court again to answer a lawsuit by a religious leader. Then his wife announces that she has A.I.D.S. Some may see it as a celebration of repulsive behavior yet the film is provocative with director Milos Foreman presents strong arguments. Foreman is at his best with material such as this especially when one looks at Amadeus, arguably his best film. Woody Harrelson delivers a flawless performance displaying Flynt's ego and arrogance. Courtney Love is superb as Flynt's unstable wife whose health suffers. Edward Norton is excellent as Flynt's frustrated lawyer who does much damage control. James Cromwell delivers interesting supporting work as well as Richard Paul who plays off the religious right wing agenda of Jerry Fawell whom Flynt mocks. Portrait of a man with questionable ethics and an argument for free speech. Score: 8 / 10

This is a great film that portrays the United States Government's attack on free speech rights, in the form of it's attempts in prosecuting Mr. Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler Magazine. Obviously Mr. Flynt is not someone most people would admire, and the film doesn't attempt to portray him as an angel by any means. What the film does portray is that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution was put in place to preserve our natural rights of freedom of speech. Any speech - as Ron Paul has stated, "The First Amendment was not put in place to protect our rights to talk about the weather." Mr. Flynt was jailed for publishing a magazine the government found to be indecent. Fortunately, for the preservation of Americans' rights, Mr. Flynt fought for his rights. When speech such as Larry Flynt's is protected, all of our speech is protected.Milos Forman does an outstanding job of direction, and Woody Harreson's performance was definitely worthy of it's Oscar nomination. Courtney Love is excellent as well, although you have to wonder how much of her performance was "acting", and how much was just Courtney Love being Courtney Love. Ed Norton as per usual puts in a stellar performance, playing Larry Flynt's abused lawyer. This film has consistently been in my top 10 favorites list not only for it's message, but it's entertainment value as well. It receives my highest possible recommendation.

Courtney Love is the worst part of this movie. She's terrible, hard to stomach, and can't act to save her life. THAT SAID....This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, and it really makes you think about what it means to live in the USA. For those of you out there reading this review who do not live in the USA, you've no doubt heard about how we Americans like to pride ourselves for being so freaking awesome... until someone points out how backwards and self-absorbed we really are. That's not to say Americans are bad (quite the contrary), but we definitely have a problem admitting when we're wrong. This movie makes no apologies, and goes straight for the jugular. And thanks to Milos Foreman, and Larry Flynt himself, this movie asks us to consider just how fundamental the right of free speech, and the freedom of expression, is to society. And yes, it relates to hardcore porn.Without delving too much into the technical aspects of the movie, let me just say that if you watch the Edward Norton courtroom scenes (the first where Larry Flynt himself is the judge, and the last one when he's arguing to the Supreme Court), and the epic speech our protagonist gives on "sex versus death," you are going to start developing opinions. It is going to make you think, and it might challenge your comfort zone. And for all those reasons, this movie is worth every moment of your time... including those painful scenes involving Courtney Love.I still think about this movie sometimes, whenever I hear people arguing about their First Amendment rights. Larry Flynt might not be a knight in shining armor, so to speak, but what he stands for is more than just porn - it's freedom of expression, and Americans have to accept that that doesn't necessarily mean something tame or conservative. It's an important lesson, and a movie that should not be missed.