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The People vs. Larry Flynt
The People vs. Larry Flynt Image
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Metascore
79 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 19 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Courtney Love, Woody Harrelson
  • Summary: Woody Harrelson stars as publishing maverick Larry Flynt, who becomes the unlikely champion of the First Amendment when he takes his fight against the Rev. Jerry Falwell all the way to the Supreme Court. (Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
  1. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    100
    Forman finesses the story's grimmer aspects as he did in "Cuckoo's Nest," and his ability to switch moods on a dime remains unsurpassed.
  2. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Charles Taylor
    40
    "Larry Flynt" should have a slick, whorish look, but there's no juice in Forman's sleaze. Hustler's centerfolds look like Renoirs next to the cold-eyed way Forman shoots women's bodies.
  3. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Tom Keogh
    30
    In all, this film is a major disappointment with a few powerful highlights.
    All this critic's reviews

See all 24 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. ScarTissue1990
    10
    This is one of those films that you HAVE to add to your "one of the best movies I've ever seen" list. For one, actors Woody Harrelson and Courtney Love are just remarkable as a duo and solo in this film. I HIGHLY recommend you watch it.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. PatC.
    9
    A precise solidly crafted movie in full control of its volatile actors, story line and editing. Not quite uplifting, but still reassuring, not to mention both cerebral and provocative.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. Halfwelshman
    9
    The People vs. Larry Flynt is a truly great biopic. When telling the story of such a controversial public figure, filmmakers are required to make their views of the person clear from the off, to come down definitively on one side of the argument or the other. Director Milos Forman and veteran writing duo Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski choose to present Larry Flynt as a defender of liberty, a man who bravely fought against the hypocritical American legal system to preserve what he believed in. Their argument is presented extremely convincingly, and Woody Harrelson's natural charisma and bad-boy charm make Flynt an extremely engaging, entertaining protagonist. A baby-faced Edward Norton is also extremely impressive in his second big-screen role playing Flynt's despairing lawyer Alan Isaacman, and Courtney Love is simply mesmerising as Flynt's increasingly broken-down and drug-addled wife Althea Leasure. What the film gets just right is the balance between fact and fiction - enough of the true events in Flynt's life remain to make the film credible as a biopic, but there is just enough romanticising to make the story dramatically effective and emotionally involving. If you want the facts about Larry Flynt's life and career, warts-and-all, then there are documentaries about, and both entertainment and academia-based books featuring the publisher widely available. If you're prepared to indulge a bit of artistic licence for the sake of big-screen drama, then The People vs. Larry Flynt is a very rewarding viewing experience. It has great performances, tragedy and comedy aplenty, and it bravely confronts attitudes to some of the more morally frowned-upon industries in society, making you think, and consider the validity of your own attitudes to the world. Simply put, it's a really good watch.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 9 User Reviews

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