The People tells the true story of Larry K. Flynt--partial nutjob, occasional born-again Christian and full-time publisher of Hustler magazine. Flynt, at first glance, seems like an odd figure for an American hero. Truth be told, he seems like an odd figure at final glance as well. Flynt is outspoken, opinionated, perverted and basically a big fat jerk. Flynt, it must be noted, would be the first to own up to these allegations. If there is one word that sums up Mr. Flynt, that word would have to be "unapologetic." In The People vs. Larry Flynt, the title role is bravely taken up by Woody Harrelson. Harrelson has had some success in Hollywood flexing his humor and charm is such movies as White Men Can't Jump. Here Harrelson gets to run full tilt with one of the more colorful (to say the least) characters in pop culture. Harrelson mixes perfectly Flynt's good-ol'-boy crudeness with his nouveau riche lust for life.

The witty and insightful script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (who cranked out the similarly excellent biopic Ed Wood) follows Flynt from his early days as a strip club owner in Cincinnati through his numerous legal battles, his religious conversion, his paralyzation at the hands of a would-be assassin and his eventual victory in front of the United States Supreme Court. Many have criticized this film (sight unseen, of course) for lionizing a pornographer like Larry Flynt. The film never attempts to portray Flynt in the golden light of martyrdom. Did Flynt do it all for the money? Of course he did. The opening scene of the movie shows a 10-year-old Flynt selling homemade moonshine in the mountains of Kentucky. We see that from childhood Flynt was A) a businessman and B) a seller of sin. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, his early legal battles to distribute his raunchy blue-collar skin mag were motivated by the almighty dollar.

What many people miss, however, is that Flynt's ultimate battle before the Supreme Court was not about pornography; it was about his right to piss off Rev. Jerry Falwell. Falwell had sued Flynt for libel over a satirical jab in Hustler. What the 1987 Supreme Court case decided was the press' right to criticize or even satirize public figures. Director Milos Foreman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus) knows a thing or two about men on the edge, and even the courtroom scenes--traditionally the dullest things you can put on film--are orchestrated with an energy, an authenticity and an immediacy that simply demands attention. As irritating as our "hero" may be, it is downright scary seeing scenes of man being--literally--gagged in court. Such things don't happen in a "free" country. Do they? The bottom line is that you don't have to like Larry Flynt, but you should, on some level, admire him for pushing this fight as far as he did. The most telling line of the film is when Flynt says to reporters on the courtroom steps, "If the law protects a scumbag like me, then it protects all of us." All I can say is "Amen."

Supporting performances are uniformly great. James Carville, Crispin Glover and even Larry Flynt himself all show up in clever cameos. Courtney Love does a smashing job as Flynt's stripper bride Althea Leisure, but I expected no less of her. She'll be a star to watch out for in years to come. Most outstanding, perhaps, is newcomer Edward Norton as Flynt's lawyer. Norton is astoundingly natural in the role. His speeches never once feel like "speeches." He's also got the least controversial role, which may figure in heavily come Oscar time.

So, predisposition aside, I would have to say that The People vs. Larry Flynt is brilliantly scripted, perfectly acted and painted onto the screen by the brushstrokes of a masterful director. Never pedantic or preachy, The People is simply the best discussion of an "issue" I've ever seen in film form. Sure, it's bound to be controversial. But controversy is good. It opens up discussion, it raises issues--and it occasionally sells a few magazines.