The People vs. Larry Flynt
Metascore
79 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
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  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. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Love proves she is not a rock star pretending to act, but a true actress, and Harrelson matches her with his portrait of a man who has one thing on his mind, and never changes it.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    100
    The film catches us by surprise in its moving portrayal of the love between Larry and Althea, played by Courtney Love in a performance that glides from kinky abandon to stark tragedy.
  4. Film.com
    Reviewed by: John Hartl
    100
    Raucously entertaining.
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  5. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Robert Horton
    100
    Forman imbues the material with exactly the right dry, satirical flavor, yet this story is still a Frank Capra little-guy-against-the-system picture.
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  6. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Elvis Mitchell
    100
    A blazing, unlikely triumph about a man who is nobody's idea of a movie hero. Smart, funny, shamelessly entertaining and perfectly serious too.
  7. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    100
    Courtney Love's performance as stripper Althea Leasure is an amazement. Funny, unfettered and almost scarily alive in front of a camera, she's the definition of a "natural."
  8. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    100
    Enormously entertaining and surprisingly touching.
  9. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Sean Means
    90
    Althea is a ferociously vibrant character, and Love goes all out to infuse her with a wildness seldom seen on screen. Love holds nothing back, and her energy and her heartache energize the movie.
    All this critic's reviews
  10. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    90
    Provocative and engrossing.
  11. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    90
    Vastly entertaining.
  12. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    88
    There's a gentleness and open-mindedness in that touch and throughout the film that's a little at odds with the shallower script. But, in the end, that humanity pays. [27 Dec 1996]
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  13. San Francisco Examiner
    Reviewed by: Barbara Shulgasser
    88
    With its fine courtroom scenes, excellent performances, great writing and superb direction it reminds me more than anything else of Barbet Schroeder's "Reversal of Fortune."
  14. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    88
    Tells a good, intelligent story that keeps us interested and involved.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. ScarTissue1990
    10
    This movie is truly amazing. Woody Harrelson's portrayal of Larry Flynt is so realistic and Courtney Love's portrayal of his wife is truly mesmerizing. What can't this woman do? Edward Norton's character is also amazing and realistic. A truly amazing, funny, but yet tear jerking and gasping film. Truly one of the best movies of all time.… Full Review »
  2. 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.… Full Review »
  3. EvanW.
    8
    Flynt is, ironically, moralistic. He stands up for what he believes in and doesn't back down.
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