Exceptional performances, a sharp script, and sympathetic direction make Milos Forman's The People Vs. Larry Flynt a genuinely engaging, entertaining and unique rags-to-riches story. Woody Harrelson's Flynt is an endearing, irascible troublemaker and unlikely patriot, not the immoral miscreant and lawbreaker his detractors color him to be. Building upon the fine reputation he founded earlier that year in Primal Fear, Edward Norton is exceptional as Flynt's put-upon lawyer; and Courtney Love's natural, unaffected turn as Flynt's dedicated girlfriend adds a necessary dimension to the film. Larry Flynt is by and large a sympathetic, subjective portrayal of the publisher, and as such, Forman and screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski choose to focus on issues of morality and free-speech; as expected, the film drew some criticism for its omission of Flynt's more unsavory traits.