| | | Life, liberty, money and the pursuit of happiness. She's gotta have it.
Features: DVD, Aspect Ratio 1.33:1
This hilarious comedy stars Laura Dern (Jurassic Park) as a loopy, down-on-her-luck drifter at the center of a topsy-turvy media circus! Ruth Stoops (Dern) is pregnant, confused, and in trouble with the law for the umpteenth time! But it doesn't stop there! She soon becomes the unwitting object of a wacky tug-of-war that erupts when Burt Reynolds (Striptease) squares off with Kelly Preston (Jerry Macguire) and Swoosie Kurtz (Liar, Liar) ... and everyone goes to ridiculous extremes trying to claim her as a national symbol for their cause! Highly provocative and utterly outrageous, Citizen Ruth is a critically acclaimed comedy you don't want to miss!
"...ambitious and unconventional..." James Berardinelli's ReelViews
"...a satire with the reckless courage to take on both sides in the abortion debate." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Editor's Note
A misguided drifter with a penchant for inhaling aerosol fumes to get high finds herself in the middle of a heated national debate after she's arrested (again) and discovers she's pregnant (again). The judge offers to let her off lightly if she has her pregnancy "taken care of," but when she's put in a cell with a group of pro-life protestors, her new roomies "adopt" her and try to force her to have the baby. A double-edged satire from first-time feature director Alexander Payne.
Plot Summary
A satirical look at the abortion issue, that takes jabs at both Pro-Life and Pro-Choice proponents.| Ruth Stoops, a low-class, unintelligent, unfit mother of four discovers while in jail that she's pregnant again. The judge charges her with endangering the fetus, but tells her in confidence that he'll reduce the charges if she has an abortion. | When word of this gets out, it changes Ruth's life dramatically, as she becomes caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between Pro-Lifers and fervent Pro-Choicers, each of whom want to use Ruth to get their messages and propaganda across. The proceedings escalate to bizarre proportions -- and in the process Ruth is virtually forgotten about. That is, until Ruth makes a decision about her pregnancy...
| Features | Scene Access | | Interactive Menus |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Buena Vista |
| Release Date: 3/7/2006 |
| Running Time: 105 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1996 | | Catalog ID: 1836703 | | UPC: 00717951005243 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Sundance Film Festival (1996) | | | Alexander Payne, Nominee, Grand Jury Prize |
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| | Professional Reviews | Chicago Sun-Times
"...The movie is a gallery of sharp-edged satiric portraits..." 04/04/1997 p.36USA Today
"Brazen but also fairly droll....Pretty cheeky." 04/05/2005 p.3D |
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