Review of Citizen Ruth (1996) by Jenna I — 05 Jan 2018
Pitch perfect satire that leaves no side unscathed. Definitely a prime Female Anxiety Movie.
Ruth is caught in the middle of a tug-of-war of lofty ideals, but the movie itself thankfully never abandons her - I felt strangely touched by the scene where she's about to get into the helicopter and then screams at her mother about being molested as a child. It was done as an almost comedy beat but the impact was more of an "oh shit" moment. She's a pretty terrible person but at least she has reasons for it. She's far more realistic than the caricature she's painted by both the freaky fundamentalists and the granola pro-choicers.
The only downside to watching this movie is having to sit through the same arguments we've heard ad nauseum for decades. The second the movie hunkers down in the trenches it becomes pretty predictable... which isn't to say it's not enjoyable, but like you just gotta be in the mood to want to get angry about politics if you watch this.
Oh and Laura Dern is perfection.
This review of Citizen Ruth (1996) was written by Jenna I on 05 Jan 2018.
Citizen Ruth has generally received positive reviews.
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