Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

essence-71588 There are 49 reviews and no one mentioned the ending credits? Maybe nobody waits for them to roll. The first 1/2 has typical end of the movie music. Then there is the loud sound of a cassette turning over. The cassette she was playing earlier about how to make money plays with lots of pseudo advanced theories about investing money from a small nest egg. Then the tape jams and breaks and the movie ends. Too funny. My Dad picked this movie. Reading the short description given of a comedy about both sides of the abortion debate I was expecting the worst. However it is a dark comedy that pulls off its subject quite well, making fun of everyone. That is rare for a movie made in the last 10 years. A movie such as this works best when the main characters don't come off too stereotypically. The movie only partly succeeds with this. This type of movie is so uncommon nowadays though that I give it a 9.

david-sarkies This was supposed to be a comedy, but I really did not find it funny. It wasn't really black comedy as we were not laughing at death, and Ruth's situation was so appalling and stuffed up that we felt put off by her as opposed to seeing it funny.The movie opens with Ruth having sex with a guy and she isn't even enjoying it, so she is booted out. She is not allowed to see her kids, and everybody seems to hate her, and she is hooked on inhaling paint fumes. She lands up in gaol, and is charged with the crime of endangering a fetus, but can get off by having an abortion.This is where the comedy is supposed to come out for two groups, the pro and anti-abortionists. They make the anti-abortionists right wing fundamental Christians, and the pro-abortionists are bizarre, moon worshiping lesbians with huge Vietnam vets protecting them. Both are trying to force Ruth to follow their lead, but in the end she manages to escape. The one good thing about the movie, is they leave her walking away. She has not changed, nor has she redeemed herself - she simply has a choice now. She can choose whether to have the baby or not. Personally, she is probably going to abort it because she still has the charge hanging over her head.As I said, this is a disturbing movie in the way they try to make it a comedy about a person you really don't want to laugh about. She is alone, selfish, and addicted to drugs, and in the end, you really don't want to get to know any more about her.

Lee Eisenberg In what has got to be one of Laura Dern's most interesting roles, she plays indigent drug addict Ruth Stoops, ordered to have an abortion at the risk of damaging her unborn fetus. That's when she gets taken in by a fundamentalist Christian, right-to-life family who starts using her as a rallying call. But abortion rights activists also see Ruth as a rallying call.Like "Thank You for Smoking", "Citizen Ruth" shows the hypocrisy of both sides in a controversial topic, as they both want to use an individual for their own ends. This movie sort of predicted what would happen to Terri Schiavo almost ten years in advance. Moreover, director Alexander Payne shows the twisted sensibility that he would later bring to "Election", "About Schmidt" and "Sideways". You gotta agree with what Ruth does at the end. Definitely one that I recommend.Also starring Kurtwood Smith, Swoosie Kurtz, Mary Kay Place, Kelly Preston, Kenneth Mars and Tippi Hedren.

Wichita_Film_Fan 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.