Top 100 Movies Of The 1990's: #48 The People Vs. Larry Flynt

Box Office: $20.3 Million

Oscar Nominations: Best Director (Milos Forman), Best Actor (Woody Harrelson)

Oscar Wins: None

MovieRankings.Net: 83/100

Available To Stream: Amazon Prime ($4)

The life of Larry Flynt feels uniquely American. Yet it it seems oddly helpful that the director Milos Forman was Czech. Forman does a brilliant job directing this and keeping the pacing up. Having a set of eyes on this that wasn't born in this country adds a level of perspective that makes this feel unique. It doesn't fall into the biopic trap so many other movies can get in. A couple years later, Forman would direct Man On The Moon (#54). Neither movie feels overstuffed or forced. 

Woody Harrelson gives the best performance in a career full of great ones. He doesn't get enough credit for being one of the most versatile actors of all-time. He is hysterical for years on Cheers and in movies like Kingpin. He can obviously do dramas like True Detective or Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Here, he does some of both. The heavy dramatic scenes hit the hardest but this movie has a lot of comedy in it as well. Larry Flynt was a funny guy and Woody is perfect at capturing that.

Sidney Baldwin. Shutterstock Images.

This movie is also casted brilliantly. Having Edward Norton and Courtney Love seem like odd actors to inhabit the same universe but that contrast is perfect. Norton is so believable as a young brilliant lawyer. It was the same year he got nominated for Primal Fear and these two movies put him on the map. On the other side, Love is so good here. She was great in Man On The Moon too. It's a shame she didn't have more of a career as an actress.

This came out at both a good and bad time. It was a good time because in the 1990's, not everything was seen through a political lens. I think if this came out now, it would have to either be framed as a movie for the left or right to enjoy. This was just a story about anti-censorship. Both sides of the aisle can agree on a lot of the basic principles. You don't have to align entirely with Larry Flynt to agree that he should be allowed to say what he wants.

Columbia Pictures. Getty Images.

On the other side, it was released in a crowded movie season right before the end of 1996 to qualify for the Oscars. It never finished above 7th in any weekend of release. Movies like Scream, Jerry Maguire, Evita and The Relic all did better business and People Vs. Larry Flynt never really got its footing. I am guessing it's among the most forgotten of any movie on the list so far.  

It's a shame this movie doesn't have more cultural relevance today. It holds up remarkably well and is an even more important message now than when it came out. People are so much quicker to say we can't or shouldn't say certain things. It even hit us here in the last week with what Big Cat said about Taylor Swift. You can give him shit for telling that joke if you'd like but I hope everyone reading this thinks that Dan should have the right to tell that joke.

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Social media has made it easier than ever to have a voice amplified. Mix in the anonymity of a platform like Twitter and now you don't even have to own what you say. While it can be frustrating at times having an online debate with an egg or an avatar of Gary Coleman, that doesn't mean it shouldn't exist. Free speech is not always going to be clean and pretty but it will always be perfect. You might not like Dan kidding that he wants to see a sex tape between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce but he has every right to say it. You take away one aspect of free speech and you may remove other layers that you don't intend. 

That's how speech stops becoming free. That's also why Larry Flynt is an American hero. Not everything he did was great but he fought for something that is even more important to the powerless than the powerful. 

48. The People Vs. Larry Flynt

49. Eyes Wide Shut

50. The Sandlot

51. Happy Gilmore

52. Contact

53. The Green Mile

54. Man On The Moon

55. Boyz N The Hood

56. Grosse Pointe Blank

57. Independence Day

58. The Rainmaker

59. Go

60. The Firm

61. Magnolia

62. The Talented Mr. Ripley

63. Tommy Boy

64. The Usual Suspects

65. In The Line Of Fire

66. My Cousin Vinny

67. Awakenings

68. JFK

69. Toy Story

70. Home Alone

71. Jerry Maguire

72. Titanic

73. Billy Madison

74. Apollo 13

75. Braveheart

76. Edward Scissorhands

77. Cape Fear

78. The River Wild

79. What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

80. 12 Monkeys

81. Stir Of Echoes

82. Mission: Impossible

83. Total Recall

84. Quiz Show

85. For Love Of The Game

86. Being John Malkovich

87. Men In Black

88. Scream

89. Alive

90. Three Kings

91. Glengarry Glen Ross

92. Die Hard With A Vengeance

93. The Blair Witch Project

94. Twister

95. Dirty Work

96. Election

97. Tremors

98. Any Given Sunday

99. The Wedding Singer

100. Clerks