Big Picture Big Sound

Flynt Made It Hard for Some

Donald Trump rose to the presidency of the United States by convincing people that he was an outsider who wouldn't be the typical corrupt politician; he'd be one of us. It didn't work out that way. Instead, he made corrupt politicians seem like the most decent people you'd ever hope to meet. But what does any of this have to do with Larry Flynt, one of America's biggest pornographers?

Watching Nadia Szold's incredibly entertaining documentary "Larry Flynt for President", I couldn't help but think about how Flynt was an odd sort of precursor to Trump. Yes, it was Reagan who was the true precursor to Trump. Before I get even further off-track, let's get back to the film.

"Flynt" was initially shot in 1983, then shelved. Someone recently found the footage and put it together. Now it's being released, more than 35 years later, and it's part of the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. It documents controversial Hustler's magazine publisher Larry Flynt's unlikely bid for the White House after a gunman's bullet left him partially paralyzed.

Larry Flynt was never someone most of us envisioned as a champion of the American Constitution, in this case the First Amendment, but sometimes unlikely candidates for championing a good cause come from odd places.

This documentary was originally meant to cover Flynt's long-shot campaign for the presidency, but its primary strength comes from watching a man fighting against his own government, repeatedly.

The government inflicted major damage on Flynt's body and brain: he believed they were responsible for trying to assassinate him and putting him permanently in a wheelchair. The film offers no proof either for or against this belief. The only things we know for sure are that some very powerful people, including President Reagan and televangelist Jerry Falwell, were not big fans of his.

While watching this doc,I couldn't stop smiling at Flynt's antics, which rankled the most powerful men in America. I understand that Flynt isn't everyone's idea of a hero, but to me he is one of the great defenders of free speech in my lifetime. This is easily going to be a top-10 film of 2021.