Reviews
Citizen Ruth (1996)
"Ruth"'s character's more interesting than story
"Citizen Ruth" satirizes the opposing sides in the abortion debate, as both focus on the case of a homeless, drug-addicted pregnant woman who has been charged with abusing her fetus by her constant inhaling of anything in an aerosol can. Ruth is played with psychotic charm by Laura Dern, who has the courage not to try softening an unsympathetic character, and it is her performance that carries the film, long after the story has revealed itself. She plays Ruth as thoroughly selfish, thoroughly manipulative, and completely unredeemable (which is fitting, as what might define redemption is part of the debate), and it's fun to watch her pull it off. Though much of the time we can see where the movie is going, Ruth keeps "Ruth" interesting to the end.
I Shot a Man in Vegas (1995)
Not much story for a good cast to work with.
There's not a whole lot of story to work with in this film that spends its time flashing us back to a pivotal moment in the lives of five friends. What is revealed about the event, and the relationships among the friends that led up to it, is not all that interesting, but a good cast does its best to lift the mediocre material up a notch. At the forced ending, we have little payoff, and this should be considered strictly for killing a couple of hours at best.