The People vs. Larry Flynt

Aside from his gentle buffoonery in “Cheers”, this might be the defining role for Woody Harrelson as he depicts one of the pioneers of the American porn industry. Fighting a losing battle to keep his pole-dancing bar afloat, Larry Flynt (Harrelson) and his brother Jimmy (Brett Harrelson) need to come up with a plan, and a chance chat with a punter suggests that a subscription magazine might be a solution. “Hustler” is born. It’s a roaring success and together with the inspiration of his savvy girlfriend Althea (Courtney Love) they soon have all the money they need for booze, drugs, an hot tub and even a private jet! Thing is, though, the puritanical classes aren’t so happy with his lucrative activities and so he is promptly charged with peddling lewd materials. His attitude doesn’t impress the judge (a real life Larry Flynt) and so he’s sent to jail for twenty five years! Thanks to the efforts of his new-found lawyer “Isaacman” (Ed Norton) he is soon free and embarking on a lifelong crusade to expose the hypocrisy of the religious and political fervidity exemplified by the likes of Jerry Falwell (Richard Paul) and Charles Keating (James Cromwell). As this quest ebbs and flows he survives an assassination attempt that renders him wheelchair-bound before suffering an even greater tragedy en route to an ultimate battle in the US Supreme Court where the very principles of first amendment rights are up for grabs. It’s history, so there’s not much jeopardy, but the gritty and plausible writing alongside a performance from Harrelson that powerfully vacillates from the thoughtlessly obnoxious to the shrewd and the vulnerable creates an almost likeable impression. Love also delivers well here with her no holds barred effort and though Norton hasn’t loads to do, when he is on screen he brings a degree of much needed sanity, and loyalty, to the proceedings. It’s sleazy and rotten - but Flynt’s point that his business is open and honest about being like that rather than those who don’t practise what the preach is quite potently made here and though it can be a little sordid, it never comes across as gratuitously graphic - just a starkly plausible portrayal of life in an adult industry that nobody ever owns up to supporting.