The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

Plot: It's the 1970s. Larry Flynt owns and operates the Hustler chain of strip clubs in Cincinnati. Wanting a broader audience to promote his form of entertainment - what he unabashedly describes as smut pedaling - he starts to publish a Hustler "newsletter" which eventually morphs into Hustler magazine. The difference between Hustler and other girlie magazines is that Hustler contains little text in the form of articles, and shows both sex and female genitalia. Despite the difficult beginnings due largely to retailers not wanting to be charged with distribution of lewd materials, Hustler magazine becomes a success and makes Larry rich. Publishing the magazine also brings Larry both detractors and troubles with the law, the magazine which some believe actually do break laws in what is deemed decent. Through his many trials and tribulations, Larry has some surprising bedfellows which do affect thoughts of what he is doing. He also has a core group of his entourage, including his younger brother Jimmy Flynt, his lawyer Alan L. Isaacman, and who would become his wife Althea Flynt née Leasure, who met Larry when she started working for him as a stripper at one of his clubs. The nature of Larry and Althea's relationship fundamentally changes starting with an incident outside a Georgia courthouse in 1978 which affects Larry's health. Larry's legal battles, which always have him challenging the conventions of legal decorum (much as the magazine challenges traditional moral decorum), change from he defending his form of entertainment to he defending the notion of free speech in America.

Alternative Plot: Pursued by opponents who say his "Hustler" magazine breaks decency laws, pornographer Larry Flynt (Woody Harrelson) hires lawyer Alan Isaacman (Edward Norton) to help fight his legal battles. A zealot shoots the men near a Georgia courthouse, and though Flynt discovers he'll never walk again, his fighting spirit -- like his love for stripper Althea Leasure (Courtney Love) -- stays strong. Ultimately, the unlikely free speech warrior takes his biggest case to a showdown at the Supreme Court.

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