Citizen Ruth (1996) Review

Pop Quiz: Name a movie that focuses on the abortion issue. Go! .... Can't come up with anything? If you can, good for you, you're a movie nerd. If not, then you're also fine. There are countless taboo topics that have been tackled by American cinema, whether it's racism, child abuse, death penalty, euthanasia, etc. But interestingly, there hasn't really been a movie about the abortion issue. Well, that was until "Citizen Ruth" came along, Alexander Payne's feature film debut as a director from 1996.


You probably know Payne for his Academy Award winning screenplays for "Sideways" and "The Descendants" (read my review here). Besides those two films he's made himself a name with two other outstanding movies, 1999's "Election" with Reese Witherspoon and 2002's "About Schmidt" with Jack Nicholson. So is "Citizen Ruth" of the same quality as his other movies?

The film's main protagonist is Ruth Stoops, played by Laura Dern. She is drug addicted, irresponsible, uneducated and just got knocked up again. After being picked up by the police due to another overdose a judge orders her to face a felony charge unless she gets an abortion. This puts her right into the media spotlight and the ongoing battle between pro-lifers and pro-choicers.

Sounds promising enough, right? In fact, "Citizen Ruth" explores its satirical opportunities fairly often, sometimes more, sometimes less successful. There are darkly comic highlights throughout the film (a scene that sees Ruth in a pro-life office with a "doctor" and "nurse" is probably the best of them all) but instead of constantly aiming for top-notch satire, the film at times falls flat due to over-the-top characters and unbelievable plot development. That's also where the main problem lies: "Citizen Ruth" doesn't have a clear message, it depicts both sides of the debate as ridiculous and out of touch with reality. As a result the film loses its own voice in the process, remaining uneven and without a clear purpose.

The acting is a double-edged sword, especially when it comes to lead Laura Dern. Her Ruth is often obnoxious and annoying beyond belief but also has more quiet moments of character development. That probably makes her a good protagonist in a satire but it is sometimes hard to sympathize with her. Kurtwood Smith who most people either know as the Dad from "That '70s Show" or the douchebag father from "Dead Poets Society" gives the most enjoyable performance of the film as the head of a pro-life group. Burt Reynolds is also good in the role of a cult leader but his character is ultimately pointless and sadly wasted.

While these points might give the impression that "Citizen Ruth" is not a good movie, it is actually more the case that the film never takes advantage of its full potential. Nonetheless one has to give it credit for its daring  choice of topic but overall it doesn't hold up to the standard of Payne's other films. "Citizen Ruth" remains a good film but it is definitely no must-watch.