Larry Flynt (WOODY HARRELSON) is the owner of the Hustler Club, a sleazy strip joint in the late 70's. Ever the entrepreneur, Flynt decides to publish a magazine that will take pornography to an extreme level and he becomes more successful than even he imagined.
He and his stripper- turned wife, Althea (COURTNEY LOVE), soon enjoy the millionaire lifestyle. However, with the success comes controversy and soon Flynt and his magazine are embroiled in legal matters.
His lawyer, Alan Isaacman (EDWARD NORTON), defends the publisher's rights under the First Amendment and Flynt revels in the notoriety. As time goes on, Flynt must deal not only with judicial matters, but also with an attempt on his life, the changing social mores of the country, and a groundbreaking lawsuit file by Reverend Jerry Falwell (RICHARD PAUL).
Despite the material contained within, this is an interesting and at times enjoyable look at Flynt and at our legal rights. The performances are compelling and Harrelson seems to fit into his role perfectly. His change in vocal delivery (from Southern to cotton mouth filled Southern), however, is never explained (unless we're to assume it's from his gunshot wound). Even so, Harrelson excels in the part (and received an Oscar nomination for it).
Love is outstanding as the tragic heroine, but since much of her life seems to parallel this role (drug use, outrageous "bad girl" behavior), it's hard to tell how much she's really acting. And Norton proved that he was on the upward track to stardom with this second big role for him (the first being in "Primal Fear").
The film is a bit of a disappointment, though, coming from Milos Forman, the director of "Amadeus" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoos' Nest." Although he also received an Oscar nomination for his work, the film has a haphazard feeling about it that somewhat derails the forward momentum it wants to (and should have) maintained. Part of that's obviously due to the editing that's a bit rough at times with some occasionally lax continuity in several scenes.
Still, it's an intriguing, engaging and even entertaining look at the life and times of Flynt and the First Amendment, as long as you can overlook and/or accept the subject matter and related material.