Underplayed Gems

Citizen Ruth (1996)

Citizen Ruth poster
Directed by
Alexander Payne
Genre
drama film, comedy film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 41m
Rated
R
Rating
6.6 of 10 from 150 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A pregnant woman with a drug problem becomes a pawn for activists on both sides of the abortion debate. She struggles to navigate the competing demands of people who want to use her situation for their own causes.

satiricaldeadpandarkly comicsharpunflinchingcynicalabsurd

What happens

Citizen Ruth is a 1996 American satirical black comedy film directed by Alexander Payne, in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Kelly Preston, Burt Reynolds, Kurtwood Smith, Mary Kay Place, Kenneth Mars, and Tippi Hedren. The film follows a poor, drug-addled, irresponsible pregnant woman who unexpectedly attracts national attention from those involved in the abortion debate. The story was inspired by the case of Martina Greywind, a homeless, unmarried mother from North Dakota who was offered $15,000 to carry what would have been her fifth child to term. This film marked Kenneth Mars’ final theatrical film role. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1996. It later opened in limited release in the United States on December 13, 1996. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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