Plot: What’s it about?
Larry Flynt. From bootlegging moonshine as a child to producing Hustler magazine to challenging the Supreme Court, this picture follows Flynt’s life, and we watch how things got to be the way they are. A young Flynt (Woody Harrelson) own a strip club, and decides to make a small magazine which features naked women. It’s a hit, so he gathers his savings, and makes a real magazine, only to see the first issue totally flop. Needing something fast, Flynt recieves a call from a photographer who has nude photos of Jackie O. Of course, Flynt buys the photos, and the next issue sells like hotcakes, putting Hustler magazine in the spotlight, and making Flynt very rich. Along with his wife Althea (Courtney Love), Flynt and his group of friends challenge all sorts of taboos with their magazine, and end up in trouble often. Will Flynt be able to publish whatever he wants, or will the religious sector decide for us all what we should read or see?
This movie was a citical success, and was touted as a “free speech” movie, that is, it rallied around the idea that Flynt was all about free speech. Well, I disagree there. This movie is about the naked female form, and one man’s fight to profit from it. Of course, not everyone is offended by nudity, but I’m sure there are those that are. If you are offended by nudity or sexual situations, stay away from this movie, because there is quite a bit of it. But, if you are open minded, and don’t mind a bit of naughty bits and curse words, this picture is worth your time. It is based on the life and times of Larry Flynt, and believe me, that premise alone was enough to scare many movie goers off. But the film is well directed (Milos Forman) and has some unbelievable performances in it.
Woody Harrelson is awesome, by far his best role yet, even though I loved him in Natural Born Killers. He brings such energy and vigor to the character, and really brings a human side to the seeminlgy shallow Flynt. Harrelson was critcally praised for his role, as was newcomer Courtney Love, who some of you recognize from the band Hole. She really shines here, and I was shocked at just how good an actress she is. A small role as a judge lets us see the real Larry Flynt, which I thought was cool, and it was interesting to see how many people recognized him. Not many, by the way, at least in my house and theatre. There are also many decent supporting roles as well, played by James Carville, Ed Norton, and James “That’ll do Pig. That’ll do.” Cromwell. Norton is great, and he only gets better in his next features.
In closing, this picture is fun to watch, but a bit too emotional. I mean, I love free speech, and I like the fact that a movie would bring Flynt’s tribulations into light, but come on. This seems like way too much glamourizing, and I don’t think, from what I’ve read and seen, that Flynt was this likeable of a person. But hey, I don’t know the guy, I just read articles and watch television, maybe I’m wrong. But, if you look beyond all that garbage, you get a great film with tremendous acting. Love and Harrelson are enough reason alone to make this disc part of your collection. Yeah, it is filled with profanity and nudity, but hey, so are most movies. You know ahead of time if you watch a movie about Larry Flynt, you are gonna see breasts and behinds, that’s a simple fact. So, much like what Flynt says in this movie, if you don’t like this movie, don’t watch it. But you should watch it, at least once.
[Editor’s note: This movie kicks ass]
Video: How does it look?
You get your choice of both aspect ratios, with a nice 2.35:1 widescreen transfer, as well as a full frame jobber as well. This transfer is nice, leaps and bounds beyond the VHS. I have not seen the laserdisc, but I’m sure this beats it. The colors are vibrant, and the black levels are right on par. No visible artifacts, grain, or bleeding, so all in all, a good, but not great, looking transfer.
Audio: How does it sound?
Not much in the way of effects here, but there are a few booms and bangs to light up your system. The soundtrack is very cool, and sounds great on this disc. Dialogue is crisp and clear, never hampered by overly loud music or effects.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Nothing at all. Not even a trailer…oh boy…only buy this disc if you love the movie, otherwise, it looks like you guys are STUCK!
