The People vs. Larry Flynt

So I was flipping through the TV the other night and came across The People vs. Larry Flynt.  I hadn’t seen the movie since it came out and only stopped just to watch for a minute but got caught up in it.  Even though I came in about half way through I couldn’t really pull myself away.  I forgot how good that movie is.  Now I know it’s weird to only write about half of a movie but just bear with me.

Larry Flynt is the founder and owner of Hustler magazine.  The movie is his story but it’s also about America.  It’s just as much about his life as it is about that first amendment that I’m sure you’ve heard so much about.  And I think that’s why this film gave me pause this time.  When I saw it the first time I guess I didn’t realize how much of it is about asking what the limits of freedom of speech are.  Are there any and if so how far do they go?  Hell, two thirds of this movie is about that and I thought that was pretty cool.  But I guess having the title expressed as a court case should have been a tip off.   

Probably the most famous line from the film and the one that defines it is when Flynt asks “why do I have to go to jail to protect your freedom?”  I mean he puts himself in these dicey situations that always go to court but it’s an interesting thing to say.  People have to do things that get them hauled into court so we can further refine our laws about how society operates.  I guess this movie helps to show us that there’s a lot more gray area than we realize.  Most of us don’t do outrageous shit like Flynt did so it might be more black and white to the average person.  But those that stir things up are the ones that force us to question what should and should not be allowed.

I know I said I forgot how good this movie is but I certainly didn’t forget how good Milos Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus) is.  The film is shot beautifully.  He has such a great sense of what looks pleasing to the eye like there’s a giant neon orange crucifix that Flynt has hanging up in the Hustler office at one point or Althea has a different hair color and outfit every scene.  Forman keeps things exciting not only with his storytelling but also visually.  There’s always something new and pretty to look at.

Forman also is a master at giving a fairly neutral portrait of his characters.  I mean I think he does lean in a certain direction but it’s not incredibly obvious.  I think both sides of Flynt are represented well here.  Of course he’s an asshole in the courtroom and to his friends/colleagues sometimes but he also loves Althea like no one else.  He purposely pisses off Jerry Falwell and says that he wants to assassinate his character but Flynt also wants his lawyer and friend Alan Isaacman to succeed with their Supreme Court case and behaves because he knows that this is as serious as it gets in terms of the judicial system.  So Forman lets the audience decide if they like him or if they don’t like him but either way I think Forman does a good job showing where Flynt’s coming from and maybe if you don’t like this guy you can still relate to him.

The casting for this is kind of interesting.  Woody Harrelson (Kingpin, White Men Can’t Jump) as Larry Flynt is great.  He balances the absurdity, the seriousness and the humor of the character very well.  For instance there’s a scene where Flynt’s yelling at his lawyer over the phone that he’s going to go to trial and tells the guy to go fuck himself, but then right before he hangs up he says “oh, and praise the lord”.  Both Forman and Harrelson are good at doing comic relief like that, that doesn’t feel contrived.

Courtney Love (Man on the Moon, Basquiat) as Althea is actually very good in this.  I think she plays basically herself at first but (Spoiler) towards the end of the movie when she has AIDS she looks like shit.  She wears dark lipstick and has black hair that accents her extremely pale skin.  Love portrays the character as being totally out of it because she’s dying.  I felt kinda icky watching her stumble around and not fully understanding what was happening around her.  I guess years of doing hard drugs will get you prepared for a role like this but to fake it and make it believable is impressive.  And even though Althea’s very sick she still shows up to Flynt’s trials and supports him. 

(Spoiler)

Althea’s death is really sad because we know that she’s the thing that Flynt cares most about.  Also the operatic music that accompanies the scene just makes it even more moving.  So kudos to Courtney for showing us that she can be a good dramatic actor if she wants to.  I mean Forman deserves some credit but Love had to do most of the work.

Oh and Edward Norton (Fight Club, American History X) is Flynt’s lawyer, Isaacman.  Norton’s his usual cool, confident self.  Not much else to say really.

But I totally forgot about the awesome supporting cast in this like Crispin Glover (Back to the Future, Dead Man) has a part playing…well…a pretty weird guy like he usually does.  But there’s also Vincent Schiavelli (Better Off Dead, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and James Cromwell (Babe, L.A. Confidential).  Man Cromwell’s fucking great in everything and he’s especially good at doing real asshole scumbags.  The real Larry Flynt even makes a cameo as one of the judges.   

I guess one of the main points of this film is that you may not approve of what some people do, like publish porn, but at least we live in a country that allows people to make that decision for themselves.  You don’t have to pick up a copy of Hustler if you don’t want to but we give people the option.  And I don’t mean for this to be a political statement.  I just think it’s cool that Forman not only poses some interesting questions but that he also is able to seamlessly weave them within Larry Flynt’s story. 

You know, all this Forman talk makes me think that I should probably talk about Amadeus one of these days.