First things first, if you're pro-life or pro-abortion you probably won't like this film. It's like many of us, ambivalent to the main issue, but shows the comedy that sometimes goes with passionate alternate views. It is well handled and evenly balanced in it's caricatures. Laura Dern is great as possibly the least glamorous heroine an actress would choose to play. But that could also be said of the whole cast, well acted, well made, well worth watching if it won't offend any strongly held views.

"Citizen Ruth" is a rare example of a movie that refuses to give you a protagonist you can root for or empathize with. Sure, there are plenty of filmic "anti-heroes", charming rogues and cads and villains you either want to see win or want to see lose. The titular Ruth, played by Laura Dern, is one of few I can think of I didn't want to see at all.Ruth Stoops is a moronic, drug addled loser. Her only goal in life is money. Her drug of choice - inhalants - seems to have been chosen deliberately: we're familiar with the highly romanticized tales of lives wasted on heroin and cocaine. Spray paint doesn't have the same dubious glamour.Whereas the filmmakers made the right choice there, it was with the movie's other major motif - abortion - that I think they should have thought longer and harder. It doesn't surprise me that Alexander Payne said the movie isn't really about pro-life or pro-choice, but about fanaticism. However the choice of this topic just cuts too close to the bone for us to take a step back. In order for us to recognize fanaticism, we have to separate ourselves from the issue and see those involved for what they are. Whereas both sides of the debate in this movie are clearly fanatics, few will be able to watch it without agreeing with one side or the other. I think the filmmakers should have chosen a topic that is less controversial.I return now to the movie's protagonist. I guess the filmmakers should be congratulated for refusing to make her likable or even interesting. In doing so, however, they have demonstrated why so few movies take that route: her company starts to wear a little thin. You keep looking for a shade of humanity in her cruddy exterior, but no, there's none to be found.This movie was basically a warm-up for Payne's first triumph, 1999's "Election", which also really had no likable characters, but enough wit and directorial flair to keep it going.

Ruth Stoops (Laura Dern) is paint-huffing homeless white trash. She has four kids but doesn't have custody of any of them. She goes to her brother to ask for money and he offers $15. She passes out in public and gets arrested. She's pregnant again. The angry judge overcharges her and she's pressured to get an abortion. In jail, she is befriended by Diane Siegler (Swoosie Kurtz) and her team of religious pro-life protesters. Norm (Kurtwood Smith) and Gail Stoney (Mary Kay Place) bail them out and take Ruth into their home. The Stoneys have two kids, rebellious Cheryl (Alicia Witt) and Matt. They take Ruth to a fake clinic to talk her out of the abortion and make her a media case for their group "The Baby Savers". Ruth struggles with her addition and her aversion for notoriety. Diane is actually a pro-choice spy and helps her get away from the Stoneys. Diane calls in Harlan (M.C. Gainey), her lesbian partner Rachel (Kelly Preston), and other pro-choice activists. Her abortion becomes a national issue, and the two sides bring their national leaders Jessica Weiss (Tippi Hedren) and Blaine Gibbons (Burt Reynolds).Alexander Payne tackles this divisive issue with humor. It skewers both side although the pro-lifers get the greater ridicule. The tricky subject matter is tough to get right and the humor is hard to calibrate. I don't think this is funny for everybody. Laura Dern delivers a complicated and endearing character. The level of difficulty is very high and Payne navigates it with great skills.

I watched this after watching Election several times and listening to Alexander Payne's commentary for that film. He keeps promoting his own work (this film) throughout so I thought "Why not?" I like to see good directors' early works. This is well made and well acted but I just didn't connect with the story. I think maybe it's because I'm from Britain where abortion is a non-issue and the main theme of this film is abortion v.s. essentially religion and pro-life. Since this is not a conflict where I'm from, I found it difficult to care. It's a bit like the original Alfie; a British film that came out 30 years earlier and tells the same story but with more weight. Just watch Election again and save yourself the hassle.