Larry! Jimmy!
That's very good.
- How much is it? - Two dollars.
There's one.
There's two.
Thank you.
It's locked. He's in there again.
Pa!
What are you doin' in there? Open up this door!
You'd better not be doin' what I think you're doin'!
I told you I make that for peddlin', not for you to drink.
You show some respect.
Larry! Jimmy!
Y'all get on to the house! Supper's ready!
Why'd you hit him?
He was drinkin' my profits.
Can't be so ornery.
People think you're crazy.
I'm just tryin' to make an honest buck.
Hello, walls
How'd things go for you today
Don't you miss her
Since she upped and walked away
And I'll bet you dread to spend another
Lonely night with me
Don't call me at work.
Larry.
I'll call you back, Mama.
Give a big hand...
to Alanis...
from Ottawa, Tennessee.
Thank you, Jimmy.
I don't know if you feel the way I do right now...
but we deliver the finest ladies in Southern Ohio.
Don't you think?
Thank you.
And now, please give a warm, warm welcome...
to Kimberley and Melissa.
They're all the way here from Paris and London... Kentucky.
So, how we doin'?
Bad.
- What do you mean, "bad"? - I mean, we're broke.
How can we be broke, Larry?
These giveaways are killing us.
The limousine.
The smorgasbord was a stupid idea.
Then all your buddies are comin' in here every night, drinkin' for free.
Don't bring my friends into this.
Hey, ladies.
Hey, Larry. We're ready to go.
You put forth some hard work. Thank you.
Alanis, I'll be by in an hour, and I'll bring the Ping-Pong balls.
Patricia...
I'II see you in two hours.
I liked the way you blew that candle out tonight.
You know, there's the secret.
If we could just somehow let people know what great lays these girls are...
we'd have something.
Larry, you can't advertise that.
I know you can't, but...
Mister, what kind of business is this?
I run the Hustler go-go clubs. I'm sure you've heard of 'em.
Well, see, that's why I need a newsletter.
I figured we'd run maybe eight, ten pages per issue.
With nothing but nudie pictures?
Yeah, on this...
nice, smooth paper.
- That's called slick. - Slick. Yeah.
But I could get in trouble printing these.
Why?
Because there are laws.
You gotta have some sort of text, like Playboy does.
God will punish the sinner!
Thank y'all for coming to my establishment...
and keep in mind, we welcome Christians in here too.
We don't want your kind here!
How many times
Have you heard someone say
If I had his money
I could do things my way
What do you think?
How much did it cost?
Would you forget the money for one second?
What do you think?
That depends on how much it cost.
Look, there it is.
The first Hustler newsletter.
It's all for the man on the go, the man about town.
- News service, pictures... - It's a magazine, not a newsletter.
How you gonna pay for that?
Don't interrupt me when I'm talking.
Let's hear it for Camille. You were wonderful, Camille.
Welcome to the stage now, gentlemen, Calamity Jane from Moscow, Texas.
Let's hear it for her.
Hang on, Sloopy
Sloopy, hang on
Sloopy lives
In a very bad part of town
And everybody, yeah
Tries to put my Sloopy down
Sloopy, I don't care
What your daddy do
Who is that?
That's the new girl.
She got the moves, don't she?
And so I sing out Hang on, Sloopy
She ain't bad.
- She ain't legal either. - Yes, she is. I saw her I. D.
Look, you stupid briar-hopper, my dog could get an I. D...
from my goat.
Hey, uh, listen.
When she gets done up there, send her up to my office.
Sloopy, let your hair down, girl
Let it hang down on me
What's your name?
Jane.
We have a policy in this club.
Oh, yeah?
Okay. And?
The trouble is, I have a sneaking suspicion...
that you're not... of age.
This could cost me my liquor license.
I'd have to close up and fire a lot of people.
- I'II tell you something. - Please.
Yeah, well, you see this?
See that? That?
I am this far...
One second, one millimeter, one second...
from being legal.
So I'm gonna have to ask you to come back...
when you're, uh, when that centimeter's up.
That would be tomorrow morning, then.
I like the way you dance. Don't get me wrong.
What's that?
Oh, just a little somethin' I got from down home.
You're a classy guy.
I've heard about you.
This is moonshine.
Is that... This is moonshine, right?
It's okay. It's just from potatoes.
- What's it gonna do to me? - It's fine. Natural.
Step away from the desk.
That's like fire!
- Sorry I made a mess. - That's okay.
Could I ask a question?
Shoot.
I heard that you've slept with every girl in every one of your clubs.
Sort of a prerequisite.
I'm just wonderin' if that's true or not.
Well, it ain't entirely untrue, if that's what you mean.
I'm just curious why you haven't taken a stab at me.
Well, I just met you five minutes ago.
It was six.
Tick, tick, tick.
Come on. One more time.
"One more time"? Come on, Althea.
Even Superman has his limits.
That's the problem with you men.
Your batteries run out.
We women, our batteries never run out.
We could go on and on.
Well, then go fuck a woman.
"Go fuck a woman."
I do fuck women.
Excuse me?
You are not the only person in this club...
to have had every woman in this club.
After one night, she's movin' in with you?
Well, this girl, she had it rough. Grew up in an orphanage...
Hey, buddy.
Are you that sex paper guy?
Could be.
I love the pictures. How do I subscribe?
Where'd you come up on the newsletter?
I found it in a gas station bathroom. Came in pretty handy.
Well, I'm glad we helped you out...
but it ain't for subscription.
Y'all want some chips?
Chips?
Ooh, look at her tits. They're nice.
They're nice tits, but they don't look real.
I don't understand this magazine.
All these fuzzy pictures...
articles about I don't know what the hell they're talking about.
You guys read Playboy?
- Well, yeah. - Yeah.
Did you... Excuse me, baby.
Did you enjoy this month's article...
on how to hook up your quadraphonic stereo system?
- What are you talkin' about? - I think I missed that one.
Did you follow their advice on how to make a perfect martini?
Hey, Larry, move over.
Who is this magazine for, anyway?
I mean, it's like if you don't make 20,000- plus a year...
you don't jerk off.
Seven million people buying it, and nobody's reading it.
Gentlemen, Playboy is mocking you.
- Give me a jelly doughnut. - I got your jelly.
- How many pages do we have right now? - We have 105.
- That's no good. - Why not?
106 is good. 104, that's good. 105...
Are you connected with these numbers? What difference...
It's gotta be an even number.
A paper has got two sides, right? Two. Multiples of two.
No, a page has four!
Four. One, two, three, four. You fold it and put in the staple.
- It's not even an even number. - Right.
We'II figure it out. We'll ask Larry.
What the hell's he doin'?
Hold that flower in your left hand.
No, your other left hand.
We're not runnin' a flower shop here. We're sellin' the girl.
Stop futzin' around with the props and pillows and flowers...
and just shoot the girl.
Okay, let's go for that leg thing.
Recline a little.
Open them legs a little bit.
Give me a little wider.
A little wider. A little wider.
Just another touch wider...
Not quite that wide.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
That's exactly what we want.
That's perfect.
That's what you want.
A woman's vagina...
has as much personality as her face.
But you can't show the genitalia.
Why not?
Larry, Rudy's right.
- Legally, you can't show the vagina. - Shut up.
Rudy, are you a religious man?
- Yeah. - You believe God created man?
God created woman?
Then surely the same God created her vagina.
And who are you to defy God? Just shoot her!
Jesus Christ.
Where is she?
Althea Hey, baby.
Happy birthday, baby.
And I have...
a heart for my heart.
Oh, Larry, that's beautiful.
What's wrong?
The distributor called...
and, unfortunately, we've had only a 25% sell-through.
Somebody wanna translate that for me?
What that means is...
they're sending back 150,000 copies.
That's what it means.
You're just a stupid briar-hopper. What made you think you could do this?
At least he has balls.
Well, he needs brains.
Oh, God. Einstein speaking.
I'm so impressed.
One more issue and we're broke?
Yeah.
Larry, you said yourself it's not so bad to be poor.
Fuck you, Althea. You go be poor.
Fuck me?
You're the one that got us into this debt.
You think just 'cause it's your birthday that you can be a bitch?
Yeah, and I'm 50 feet tall and you have a needle dick.
Don't ever hit me like that again.
Don't talk to me like that.
I'II go back and I'll eat dog food.
Take this.
I don't own this anymore. Throw it out in the street.
Mr. Flynt, a guy on the phone claims he has naked pictures of Jackie O.
Put him through. Hello.
- You the photographer? - Yeah.
- What do you got? - Is this Mr. Flynt?
Yeah.
I was watching that damn island for four months.
Then one day the cabana door opens...
and out comes Jackie O with nothing on.
I mean, not a single stitch.
- You sure it's Jackie O? - Yeah! Sure!
- And what do you see? - Absolutely everything. Trust me.
And she's a good one. This ain't no Mamie Eisenhower or Ladybird.
Oh, my God. First Pussy.
Everyone's talking about local boy done good...
- or bad... Larry Flynt... - Arlo, move!
Whose Hustler magazine has reached national sales figures...
of an astonishing two million copies.
In a stunning disclosure...
- Cal, move your ass! - WGBE-TV has learned...
that Ohio governor Jim Rhodes himself was spotted at a newsstand...
buying a copy of the infamous Jackie O issue.
- I spoke to the governor today... - Arlo, move it!
And he had this response.
Everybody knows I've been a historical buff about First Ladies for a long time.
Would you be interested in nude photos of Martha Washington?
- She's a bit before my time. - Arlo!
What about nude photos of your wife?
A teacher educates our children...
and they become model citizens.
The clergyman preaches, and we find spirituality.
My bank gives loans, and homes get built.
But now...
there's a new, darker influence in Cincinnati.
Mr. Leis, if you would.
I'm going to ask that you review this material very, very carefully...
because it's important that you know...
that I did not buy these at a smut store.
These were not purchased at a...
dirty book shop.
I bought this...
in a neighborhood grocery store...
in full view of our children.
Ma'am, you cannot hide from this.
Decent people...
are being corrupted.
Why, just look what happened to our fine governor.
As members of the Citizens for Decent Literature...
we cannot relent.
We must prevent the destruction...
of the soul of our country.
Take off your pants.
- What? - Take off your pants.
Why?
Because...
I've never fucked a millionaire before.
Look at that.
Happy birthday, America!
This is Larry's house?
- Ma! Pa! - Must be it.
Hi, son!
- You came! - It's so big.
Who are all these people?
Well, these are my friends, Ma.
- Oh. You have so many friends. - Lots of money, lots of friends.
Oh! Look at you!
Hey, Arlo!
You know how many rooms I have here?
- 24. You know who else has 24 rooms? - The President?
Hugh Hefner.
This is the best room in the house. You're gonna like it.
This is the best room in the house.
You know, there's a maid still cleaning up in there.
Let me just say a word.
The maid's in there.
Listen, my folks are here...
so move the girls into the Jacuzzi and I'll get with you later.
Your folks are here?
What in the world is that?
Hey, ladies.
Larry!
The party is just beginning.
She's nice.
And she's frigid.
Let's see what we can do about that.
Do you ever think about getting married?
Oh, God.
There's nothing more certain to ruin a beautiful relationship than marriage.
As soon as you get that ring around the finger...
suddenly you have an ownership situation.
Prior to that...
it's friendly.
You're kind to each other.
I'll tell you something...
as much as I love you...
I want a variety of different...
vagina, pussy.
- What did we just do? - That's what I'm talking about.
So, do you think I'm talking about monogamy?
You're not talking about monogamy?
No. Of course not.
How could you misunderstand me?
I was wondering, 'cause I thought...
I don't wanna get married and stop the way we live.
The way we live is great.
Nothing would change. My God.
Why now?
Because I only wanna be with you.
You're the only man I wanna be with.
I want this ring on my finger...
to tell me that you love me above all other women.
You want a ceremony?
I wanna go to a church. I wanna stand in front of a preacher.
Pay the preacher first...
and we'll get a "cashectomy" from the lawyer on the way out.
You are my life.
You're my life.
- I am here for the rest of my life. - You're my life too.
Right now, right here, my life. I can't speak for 20 years from now.
- I can. - You can?
- Let me say something. - Oh, man!
- Just forget I brought it up. - Listen to what I'm saying.
Would you marry me?
It's not funny.
I'm not joking. Would you marry me?
Would you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Larry Flynt?
You're not fucking with me?
You mean it?
No, I'm just kiddin'.
You are?
No, I'm serious. I'm serious.
She's got a dick!
You taped this on. This is not real.
- Who would want to see that anyway? - I do!
- I think it's genius. - It don't matter.
It's just like when people slow down at a car crash to take a peek.
We're breaking taboos.
I've got an idea. The Wizard of Oz.
What?
Okay, Dorothy is laying there in Kansas...
and there's the Tin Man...
and the Scarecrow and...
- Who's the other one? - The lion.
The lion.
They're all gang-banging her...
and there's Toto, maybe, even?
Althea, I think some things are sacred.
Shut up.
That is the best idea I ever heard.
Yeah. It could work.
Where can I find Larry Flynt?
The Tin Man can have a tin penis.
No, he's got that hat like a funnel, that funnel hat.
Larry Claxton Flynt!
Stand up, sir. Hands behind your back.
- What's this? - You're under arrest...
on charges of pandering obscenity in Cincinnati...
and engaging in organized crime.
Organized crime?
Sit down, lady. You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used against you in court.
If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed by the court.
Mr. Flynt?
You Larry Flynt?
- Who are you? - Alan Isaacman.
I'm your lawyer.
Your bail is all taken care of...
but we oughta talk about the case.
Wait. Who hired you?
Your wife.
- My wife? - Yeah.
Are you doin' her?
Wait... Am I what?
I'm just kiddin'. I like you.
Give me a call after you get out of law school.
Oh, no. I'm out of law school.
- What are you, 22? - 27.
Harvard law school, three years in the public defender's office.
Obviously you can get whoever you want to represent you in this case...
but let me say one thing to you...
You're pretty far out there, even for the guys who do a lot of this stuff.
I am interested in your case.
The problem you've got is very definitely what I know best...
and I am good at what I do.
What, do you specialize in porn?
No, I don't specialize in porn.
I'll be perfectly honest. I don't particularly like what you do.
I specialize in civil liberties.
I don't understand why they've singled me out.
Look, this case is bigger than just you and your magazine.
In your case, what's more troubling is this organized crime charge.
Organized crime? Larry's not in the Mob.
Mr. Flynt, I gotta ask you once.
Do you have any connections in any way to organized crime?
Absolutely not.
I've gotta ask.
By the way, call me Larry.
All right.
In that case, Larry, this is a bullshit charge...
but we have to take this seriously...
because you could conceivably be looking at 7 to 25 years.
Twenty-five years?
All I'm guilty of is bad taste.
My cousin Bobby shot a preacher in the back.
He got six months for it.
Bobby shot a preacher? What denomination?
Baptist.
Can we discuss Cousin Bobby later?
We need to discuss this seriously.
I am serious. I'm taking notes.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Before we begin...
I must apologize...
for the unpleasantness of this task.
What you're about to see...
is going to take your breath away.
Hustler magazine...
depicts men and women...
posed together...
in a lewd and shameful manner.
Hustler depicts women and women...
posed together in a lewd and shameful manner.
Hustler magazine depicts Santa Claus...
posed in a lewd and shameful manner.
What's he talking about?
Jesus Christ, Larry.
With the court's permission, the defense would like to introduce into evidence...
27 other men's magazines...
sold in the Cincinnati area.
Titles such as Penthouse, Playboy...
Objection!
Sustained.
"Sustained"?
Wait a second, Your Honor, if I may.
These magazines...
contain material that is virtually identical to Hustler magazine.
If these magazines are legal and Hustler is not legal...
then this is clearly a case of selective prosecution.
No.
I'm sorry. Did you say "no"?
I will not allow them into evidence.
- They're irrelevant to this case. - But they are not irrelevant.
They very clearly demonstrate the community standard which is laid out...
No, Counselor!
The jury is representative of community standards...
not a pile of magazines.
I won't admit them.
You won't admit them.
Mr. Flynt, would you please turn to page 77?
Would you describe to the jury what is on page 77, please, sir?
It's a picture of Santa Claus.
What is Santa Claus doing?
Talking to Mrs. Claus...
and holding in his hand...
what appears to be...
a large, erect penis.
And would you read the caption under that cartoon, please?
It says...
"This is what I've got to 'Ho- ho- ho' about."
Mr. Flynt, do you think...
that the founding fathers had a cartoon like this in mind...
when they wrote the First Amendment?
Well, no, but I don't think they necessarily had Playboy in mind...
or People either...
'cause I saw a couple of swear words in there once.
But isn't a community allowed to set its own standards?
No. That's just a disguise for censorship.
This country belongs to me...
as much as it belongs to you, Mr. Leis.
If you don't like Hustler magazine, don't read it.
I don't.
But what about the innocent children who gaze upon your magazine...
in our grocery stores?
If a kid gets caught drinking beer in a tavern...
we don't ban Budweiser across the nation.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury...
you've heard a lot here today and I won't try to go back over it all.
But you have to go back in that room and make some decisions...
and there is one thing I want to make very clear to you before you do.
I'm not trying to convince you that you should like what Larry Flynt does.
I don't like what he does.
But what I do like is...
that I live in a country...
where you and I can make that decision for ourselves.
I like that I live in a country where I can pick up Hustler magazine...
read it if I want...
or throw it in the trash, if that's where I think it belongs.
Or I can not buy it.
I like that right. I care about it.
And you should care about it too...
because we live in a free country.
We say that a lot, but sometimes we forget what that means, so listen again.
We live in a free country.
That is a powerful idea. That's a magnificent way to live.
But there is a price for that freedom, which is that sometimes...
we have to tolerate things that we don't necessarily like.
So go back in that room...
where you are free to think whatever you want to think...
about Larry Flynt and Hustler magazine.
But then ask yourselves if you want to make that decision for the rest of us...
because the freedom that everyone in this room enjoys...
is, in a very real way, in your hands.
If we start throwing up walls against what some of us think is obscene...
we may wake up one morning and realize...
that walls have been thrown up in places we never expected...
and we can't see anything or do anything.
And that's not freedom.
That is not freedom.
So, be careful.
Thank you.
Madam Foreman, have you reached a verdict?
Yes, Your Honor, we have.
Hand the verdict to the bailiff.
Will the defendant please rise?
Madam Clerk, read the verdict.
"We, the jury...
find the defendant, Larry Claxton Flynt...
guilty as charged on all counts."
Do you have anything to say before I sentence you?
Your Honor...
you've not made...
one intelligent decision during the course of this trial...
and I don't expect one now.
Knock yourself out.
I sentence you to 25 years in the Ohio State Penitentiary.
Your Honor, we request bail...
- Bail denied. - Denied?
- Take him away. - This procedure is completely standard.
All I do is publish a magazine!
Mrs. Flynt, were you surprised by the verdict?
No, I was not surprised by the verdict at all.
We had a stupid judge and an uptight prosecutor.
Are you ashamed to have your husband locked up?
I never would be ashamed of Larry.
I'd rather have a man who stands up for what he believes in.
Of course I'm not happy he's going to jail.
You guys can call this a circus, a witch hunt...
Hi, baby.
You are so beautiful.
Hi, Larry.
How are you?
- I miss you. - I've missed you too.
You got any girlfriends in here?
You got calluses on your hands?
You know it.
I fantasize about you all the time.
Our bed is so empty.
Baby.
Oh, baby.
Oh, God.
What can I do to get you out of here?
Isaacman says there's no way this is gonna hold up.
What if Alan's wrong?
What if you don't get out till the year 2000...
and I'm fat and old and ugly and you don't love me anymore?
You ain't never gonna be old and fat and ugly.
I promise you.
- I love you. - I love you.
Glory, glory, hallelujah
His truth
Is marching on
His truth is
Marching
On
Please. Please. Please.
And now, Americans for a Free Press...
take extreme pleasure in welcoming to Cincinnati...
direct from jail...
cleared 100% by the Appellate Court...
This is great of the Americans for a Free Press to invite us here tonight.
The Americans for a Free Press is me. Who do you think's paying for all this?
...that freedom fighter, Larry C. Flynt!
- Thank you. - We love you, Larry!
I have a thought.
Murder is illegal...
but you take a picture of somebody committing the act of murder...
they'll put you on the cover of Newsweek.
You might even win a Pulitzer Prize.
And yet...
sex is legal.
Everybody's doin' it, or wants to be.
Yet you take a picture of two people in the act of sex...
or of just a woman's naked body...
and they'll put you in jail.
Now, I have a message for all you good, moral, Christian people...
who are complaining that breasts and vaginas are obscene.
Don't complain to me. Complain to the manufacturer.
Okay? And although Jesus told us not to judge, I know you will anyway...
so judge sanely.
Judge with your eyes open. What do you consider obscene?
Is this obscene to you?
Or perhaps that's obscene to you.
Maybe this is obscene to you.
But what is more obscene, this...
or this?
This...
or this?
You know, politicians and demagogues like to say...
that sexually explicit material corrupts the youth of our country.
And yet they lie, cheat and start unholy wars.
Look at them. They call themselves men. They're sheep in a herd.
I think the real obscenity comes from raising our youth...
to believe that sex is bad and ugly and dirty...
and yet it is heroic to go spill guts and blood...
in the most ghastly manner in the name of humanity.
With all the taboos attached to sex...
it's no wonder we have the problems we have...
that we're angry and violent and genocidal.
But ask yourself the question...
What is more obscene...
sex or war?
She's a killer.
- Larry. - Yeah.
Hi, Althea.
Hi, Arlo.
Arlo, you wanted something?
Yes.
I've got bad news.
A Georgia prosecutor's arrested some newsdealers...
for selling Hustler.
Some other retailers are getting nervous and taking issues off the stands.
Fuel the jet.
Wait. Alert the Georgia media.
Tell 'em the cavalry's on the way.
Larry, why are you here?
Good, hardworkin' news vendors are being threatened and intimidated.
If that's not censorship, what is?
- So, what's your plan? - Well, just watch.
Come right on in here. Stand right over there.
All right.
Don't crowd.
Let the cameras through. You rollin'?
Now, what we're gonna do here is...
I'm gonna pay this gentleman $1,000.
I'm renting the Puff 'n' Read for 24 hours.
I am in control now.
Anybody who would like to purchase a copy of Hustler magazine...
Could I please buy a copy of the Hustler magazine?
Yes, you can, sir. Here is the Hustler magazine I'm selling...
That's it. Larry Flynt, you're under arrest.
Okay. I gotta give him some change.
Only in America, huh?
How far will you go for Hustler? What are your plans?
Many people support Hustler magazine, but none are willing to support you.
How do you feel about that?
Why do I have to go to jail to protect your freedom?
That's good.
So, we're gonna pay a million bucks?
If it catches the killer, it's worth it.
Moving on. Asshole of the Month.
Jerry Falwell.
You always say Jerry Falwell.
Jerry Falwell is always an asshole.
How about Anita Bryant this month?
I say Gerald Ford.
I say Larry Flynt.
I like that, bro. I mean, everybody thinks I'm an asshole.
- Yeah, that's true. - Is that right?
Larry, you have a call.
- Take a message. - How about Asshole of the Decade?
She's calling from North Carolina.
She says she's the President's sister, Ruth Carter something.
Ruth Carter Stapleton?
She's a woman of God.
What does she want with you?
What are you afraid of? Pick up the phone.
Okay, patch her through.
Hello, this is Larry Flynt.
- Praise the Lord. I found you. - Hallelujah.
What can I help you with?
We have a mutual friend, Larry, a television producer...
and he suggested we get together.
He thought you and I would hit it off.
I don't understand.
You're an evangelist and I'm a smut peddler.
Larry, I don't believe in labels.
I think you and I could teach each other a lot, so...
are you free for dinner tomorrow night?
You know, I have a hectic schedule.
You know what's nice about people like you and me, Mr. Flynt?
What's that?
We can do anything we want.
Do you go to church, Larry?
Yeah, church.
Particularly the, uh, you know, the big holidays...
Christmas, Easter and New Year's Eve.
New Year's Eve?
They don't have church on New Year's Eve. Okay.
Well, we've proven I'm a liar.
- I never go. - It's not important.
That's only a ritual.
I believe in going straight to the teachings of Jesus.
And does she love that man.
Would you call yourself...
a faith healer?
Goodness, no.
I do spiritual healing.
Oh.
I don't mend bones. I mend troubled souls.
That's a relief. I thought you might be one of those tent revival fakes...
that used to come scare the kids with snakes...
and "Wicked this, wicked that."
Hellfire, damnation, that sort of thing.
That kind of talk is almost unforgivable.
Well, then, I'd say we have...
something in common.
Actually, Larry, there's something else you and I have in common.
What's that?
We're both trying to release people from sexual repression.
Really.
Sorry, Mrs. Stapleton.
So, tell me, your brother...
Ji... Mr. President...
Jimmy will be fine.
Do you think he ever...
read my publication?
You remember that interview he gave Playboy magazine?
The one where he admitted he had lust in his heart?
I was especially proud of that.
I'm sure you were...
but Oral Roberts wasn't and Billy Graham wasn't.
They took out after him in public.
So I don't think he's a big fan of adult magazines.
But, you know, Larry...
I'm more ambivalent about what you do...
because I think that sexuality is...
a God-given gift.
I have to agree with you.
When I counsel Pentecostal women in bad marriages...
I don't take the Bible out.
I say to them...
"Get some make-up. Get yourself some curlers.
Make yourself beautiful, because Jesus wants you to be beautiful."
Yeah, well, that...
You're something. You surprise me.
Larry, what was your childhood like?
You know, sometimes things happen to us when we're very young...
that can hurt for many years after.
I think we're all born into this world...
Why? Why?
'Cause I had an epiphany. Okay?
- A what? - An epiphany.
Where'd you learn that damn word?
This woman crookin' you so hard, she's teaching you English now?
She ain't crookin' me.
I think it's more an acid flashback.
Don't belittle it like that. It was a serious thing.
Do you think that I wanted Jesus to tap me on the shoulder?
I'm the last guy who wanted that.
I'm gettin' laid six times a day. I got limousines, a jet, lots of money.
I'm the last guy who wanted God tapping him on the shoulder.
I had an epiphany.
- I had an epiphany once, Larry. - What was that?
When my daddy shot my entire family in the head...
and I was the only one to identify the bodies.
I got sent to an orphanage full of good Christian nuns...
who shoved my face into their pussies...
with their crucifixes on...
for eight goddamn years!
I am genuinely sorry for you, baby, but that does not...
Don't be sorry for me! Be sorry for yourself!
- You'll need that in the pawn shop. - Don't throw that!
We're gonna be so broke, you're gonna need that.
Come on.
It's okay.
Just get behind me on this, okay?
That's all I'm asking.
I feel like it's me against the world. You're all I got, baby.
Say you ain't gonna do this.
- I'm doing it! - No! You ain't gonna do it!
Oh, now I'm baptized too. Is that it?
Fuck you, Larry!
The Lord
Oh, Lord
My soul
Doth magnify
The Lord
Do you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior...
and reject Satan and all his works?
I do.
In obedience to the will of God...
and upon the confession of this, our brother...
we baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son...
and in the name of the Holy Spirit.
Hallelujah
Hallelujah!
There will be no more...
photo spreads of women alone.
From now on, sex will be presented in a more natural setting...
with a man in the picture.
You know, a Genesis pictorial...
with Adam and Eve getting it on in the Garden of Eden.
Then next month I'd like to have...
pretty girls all floating on big glass crucifixes.
Marjoe Gortner could shoot that.
I plead with you not to do this.
If you do this, this company's gonna be worth nothin'.
You're all looking at me like I'm the one growing horns.
Look around you. We are living in Roman times.
It is time...
to feed the lions to the Christians.
This is a joke.
You're just doing this to...
help our circulation.
Arlo.
I love you, brother...
but please don't ever, ever, ever...
doubt my sincerity.
Use me
For your service
Dear Lord
Just grant me the power
This is making people sick.
They're going up to newsstands and they're puking, they're vomiting.
I was just trying to illustrate...
that I am no longer willing...
to exploit the female body.
You've failed miserably at that.
Nobody on this planet wants their religion and their porn mixed together.
Well, you know, Ruth says that...
Well, get your friend Ruth to buy two million of these magazines...
because nobody else will do it.
Larry, I'm not gonna pretend that I understand...
what you go through...
what this spiritual thing is to you.
I never have, but I've always been supportive. Always.
And, honey...
you're taking this too far now.
It's going too far.
It's like you're losing your mind.
My mind is fine.
God is working through me.
Don't you see that?
I could accomplish anything. I could move mountains with God's help.
I could make that wall come tumbling down with sheer willpower.
God. Do it. Just do it, then.
- Do it. - Do it?
He's gonna be thrilled about this. Really.
Hey, Larry. Yeah, it's Alan.
I'm sitting here with the eminently reasonable District Attorney of Georgia.
He's very impressed by your conversion.
He's offering a plea bargain.
A plea bargain because I found God?
Larry, listen to me.
Don't argue with me on this.
Just say yes, because I pulled a lot of strings to make this happen.
Is he there with you?
Could you do me a favor?
Tell that miserable, gray-haired bastard...
to go fuck himself.
We're goin' to trial.
Okay. Right.
Oh, and praise the Lord.
Right.
The Gwinnett County Court is now in session.
Mr. Flynt, how can you, as a good Christian...
defend this filth?
I don't have to.
It may be wrong, in some people's opinion...
to portray women the way I have...
but it's not illegal.
It may not be smart to have too much to drink, but it's not illegal.
Abortion may be morally repugnant...
but right now it's not illegal.
If we want to change the laws, that's another discussion...
but our right to decide for ourselves cannot be restricted.
George Orwell said that...
if liberty means anything...
it means the right to tell people what they don't wanna hear.
Now, America...
is the strongest country in the world today...
only because it is the freest country.
If it ever loses sight of its basic heritage...
and the principles involved...
then we will no longer be free.
That was a bang-up job.
Larry, did you pray before entering the courtroom?
- No comment. - Is your wife jealous of Ruth?
Do you have any comment?
- Is that true? - Do you have anything to say?
This is Jackson. We got shots fired in front of the courthouse.
- Somebody help! - We need an ambulance right away.
Stand back.
Got a 36-year-old male, gunshot wound, left shoulder.
Patient has no movement or sensation...
I want him alive. I don't care if his head's in a fishbowl!
Mrs. Flynt...
there's something you have to know...
before you go in that room.
They say that you're paralyzed.
They say you're paralyzed from the waist down.
They say that you ain't gonna walk again.
From the waist down?
I fuckin' love you.
I'm so sorry, Althea.
Larry.
My dearest, how are you?
Oh, the pain.
I feel like I'm in hell.
No, you're not in hell.
You belong to God.
I wish he'd killed me.
I do.
I can't ever walk again.
I can't make love to my wife.
I can't...
have a child with her.
But don't give in to the bitterness.
You'll be so much stronger if you keep your faith.
God will see you through this.
Ruth...
there is no God.
Take this down. I want all this Christian stuff out of here now.
Ladies. Gentlemen.
The reign of Christian terror at this magazine is now over.