Citizen Ruth (1996)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

"Citizen Ruth" is a rare example of a movie that refuses to give you a protagonist you can root for or empathize with. Sure, there are plenty of filmic "anti-heroes", charming rogues and cads and villains you either want to see win or want to see lose. The titular Ruth, played by Laura Dern, is one of few I can think of I didn't want to see at all.Ruth Stoops is a moronic, drug addled loser. Her only goal in life is money. Her drug of choice - inhalants - seems to have been chosen deliberately: we're familiar with the highly romanticized tales of lives wasted on heroin and cocaine. Spray paint doesn't have the same dubious glamour.Whereas the filmmakers made the right choice there, it was with the movie's other major motif - abortion - that I think they should have thought longer and harder. It doesn't surprise me that Alexander Payne said the movie isn't really about pro-life or pro-choice, but about fanaticism. However the choice of this topic just cuts too close to the bone for us to take a step back. In order for us to recognize fanaticism, we have to separate ourselves from the issue and see those involved for what they are. Whereas both sides of the debate in this movie are clearly fanatics, few will be able to watch it without agreeing with one side or the other. I think the filmmakers should have chosen a topic that is less controversial.I return now to the movie's protagonist. I guess the filmmakers should be congratulated for refusing to make her likable or even interesting. In doing so, however, they have demonstrated why so few movies take that route: her company starts to wear a little thin. You keep looking for a shade of humanity in her cruddy exterior, but no, there's none to be found.This movie was basically a warm-up for Payne's first triumph, 1999's "Election", which also really had no likable characters, but enough wit and directorial flair to keep it going.

Laura Dern is one of my favorite actresses just for her work in Inland Empire and her stunning work in Enlightened. This film usually gets the least mentions within Payne's filmography and is probably considered his weakest, and so I was surprised and enjoyed it a hell of a lot, especially coming off of a big disappointment. Like Election, it's definitely more in the comedy-territory and while, again, it may not amount to all that much, it's still a hell of an enjoyable ride. And, of course, Laura Dern is great, she's proved she can play this sort of ditzy, unaware character and she nails it. This is definitely recommended and rather underrated

This is a hard movie to interpret. Not the story, but the intended message, because surely there is one.The story is straightforward enough. Ruth Stoops (Laura Dern)is a drug-abusing, loud-mouthed, selfish girl who has had a couple of illegitimate kids and is now pregnant again. She's been in and out of jail and rehab programs so often she can't remember how many times. Now she's picked up for sniffing glue again and the court puts her back in the slams and advises her, strongly, to abort this new child.But she is bailed out by a devout working-class family (Kurtwood Smith, Mary Kay Place) who want to save her and her baby. They're sincere enough. They have a tough time scraping together the $400 bail. The home they take her to is a stifling nest of conventional religiosity and hypocrisy. They don't smoke, don't drink, don't swear, say grace before each meal, and their teen-age daughter sneaks out at night to get drunk and party. And hubby can't stop himself from eying Dern's nubile figure when she's careless with her garb. ("You know, I used to be quite a sinner," he tells her while they lie side by side in his old bed.) The family introduce her to a "counseling agency" who do their best to talk her into saving her baby. The medical staff congratulate her on her pregnancy and show her a doll about the size of the fetus she's now carrying. ("It's even got a little thing on it," she says. "Sure, because it's a boy doll!") They show her a movie of dead, aborted children, which compares abortion to Buchenwald and Auschwitz, and she winds up changing her mind. "Gee, I slept on dumpsters. Maybe I slept on some babies." But she's spirited away by a pro-abortion spy (Swoozie Kurtz) who has been undercover in The Baby Savers movement, and she's taken home to be brainwashed by Kurtz and her girlfriend, who apparently worship Selene, the moon, because they keen a kind of folk song at the night sky. They massage the acupuncture points in her bare feet while they propagandize her and Dern loves it. "Do my spleen again." So she decides to abort.But then The Baby Savers come up with a $15,000 check if she decides to save the baby. So she decides to have the baby. And then a Vietnam vet among the pro-choicers matches the reward, so she decides to abort. By this time the issue has become nation-wide and has drawn in the leader of the Baby Savers, Burt Reynolds, who ups the ante to $27,000 if Dern will save the baby. So she decides to save the baby. (During all this, she's been swilling and sniffing everything in sight.) I won't give away the ending except to say that Ruth steals some money and makes off with it before anyone notices. Final shot: Dern marching off alone into the distance, accompanied by a triumphant theme, strong-willed, street savvy, a bag full of cash slung over her determined shoulder, still lacking in the frontal lobes that might allow her to plan for a future.It's a satirical look at the abortion debate, and more black than comedic, although it has its laugh lines. Nobody comes off at all well, except maybe the Vietnam amputee who sees through Ruth and offers his $15,000 anyway. That is, she's been planning on how she might spend the windfall. She'll make a down payment on a new house, then buy a new car, then maybe travel to Europe. The vet listens to this then tells her it's baloney, that both of them know the $15,000 will last her about three days.The cast is littered with familiar names, none of whom do an outstanding job but all of whom are competent enough. As a stimulus-hungry, self-destructive, mentally challenged teen-ager, Laura Dern is an attractive and sexy young woman but not a teen-ager. Burt Reynolds brings his usual role distance to the job. He proudly introduces the first boy he ever saved by adopting, the boy who's now about fifteen, the boy who fetches the ice for Reynolds' drinks, the boy who now massages Reynolds' tanned and muscular shoulders on command.But where is the movie headed? I was all in favor of the pro-abortionist lesbians but I don't think that's what was intended. Most black comedies at least give you someone to root for, even if he's not victorious. "Dr. Strangelove" was a black comedy, too, but President Merkin Muffley at least was sane and rational. Here, the Vietnam vet's role is far too minor for us to identify with him in any way. This reminds me more of Tom Wolf's "Bonfire of the Vanities." Everybody in it is stupid and/or rotten. And the intentions of the producers is ambiguous, along the lines of one of Randy Newman's songs -- "I Love L.A." or "Short People". Is Newman really defiantly saying he loves Los Angeles, or is he kidding? Maybe the message is that of the Buddha, who was a very practical man. All things in moderation. Avoid zealotry. An excess of passion always leads to disappointment and pain in one form or another.

There is something about Citizen Ruth that keeps me coming back to it. I must have seen it 30 times and haven't tired of it yet. It is genuine and the people are so amazingly real. It's almost as if some of my neighbours seem just like the characters in the film. That says a lot in my opinion. The Mid-west is a land that holds a special place in the American psyche. I can literally count on my hands the number of films that truly capture its spirit. Citizen Ruth is one of those films. From scenes in the hardware store to large rear wheel drive Fords, everything fits perfectly. This film captures a place called Omaha which for better or worse Hollywood largely ignores. It also treats a controversial topic like abortion in a thoughtful manner. Excellent film. Highly recommended.10 out of 10 stars.