Citizen Ruth

CITIZEN RUTH (1996) - Oct. 13, 2004
Laura Dern is excellent in this dramedy by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor. While probably not quite up there with Election and About Schmidt, it was still really good. The film is about abortion, which is a subject which could easily create a bad movie (ie. too preachy). Payne and Taylor wisely avoid this problem, and in fact you would be hard-pressed to figure out what they personally think of this issue, as they satirize both sides equally. The film is, unsurprisingly, really well written and directed, and in the centre of it all there's Laura Dern's excellent performance. I don't know why she doesn't act more. ***1/2