The Abortion Debate... Rendered Funny

In honor of the upcoming election, I will be (hopefully) viewing and reviewing one movie with a political theme each week until Election Day. This week I chose Citizen Ruth, a movie that satirizes everyone's favorite wedge issue, abortion.

Director (and co-writer, with Jim Taylor) Alexander Payne manages to make a movie about the abortion debate that is actually funny. The plot revolves around a woman named Ruth Stoops, brilliantly portrayed by Laura Dern. Ruth has no job, no money, and no prospects. She has recently been kicked out by her boyfriend. She is soon arrested (as she has been many times) for inhalant abuse... and it is quickly revealed that she is pregnant. Coming before a judge, it is revealed that Ruth has had four children in the past, all of whom have been placed in the care of others. Ruth is charged with reckless endangerment of her fetus; after her hearing, the judge suggests that she "take care of her problem."

This is the basic set up for the rest of the movie. During a scene in detox (one of the only moments during the film where Ruth is actually a sympathetic character), a pro-life group called the "Baby Savers" appears, singing songs and praying. They pay Ruth's bail and take her in; some very funny scenes of the foibles of the pro-life camp ensue. Eventually Ruth is thrown out by this family, and taken in by pro-choicer-in-disguise Diane, played by Swoosie Kurtz. The movie then takes on the pro-choice forces, skewering them just as thoroughly.

I think most people have strong feelings about the subject of abortion, and this film might offend some of us. However, I think it does an excellent job of making the point that by engaging in endless argument - "the abortion wars" - that we are missing the suffering of the individual women making these decisions. Throughout the movie, Ruth is used as a pawn by both sides; the pro-lifers push her to have the baby, the pro-choicers encourage her to abort. Meanwhile, what Ruth most seems to care about is her own survival... and finding another aerosol can to inhale.

Swoosie Kurtz does an excellent job playing Diane - the pro-choice "spy;" and I also loved the performance of Kurtwood Smith as Norm Stoney, the head of the local pro-life group. Burt Reynolds and Tippi Hedren appear toward the end, portraying heads of national pro-life and pro-choice organizations, respectively.

I felt that the ending of the movie left something to be desired; it struck me as an almost predictable anticlimax. At the same time the ending also suited the character of Ruth Stoops, a woman who never wanted to be used to send a message about any political issue.

While this movie isn't likely to change anyone's stance on abortion, it does give the viewer something to think about while at the same time remaining entertaining. It seems to me that this is a lot more than many current movies manage to do... Citizen Ruth is well worth spending a couple of hours with.