realism in the abortion debates." While the film's overt subject matter is abortion, director Alexander Payne has insisted that the film is more prominently about the human side of fanaticism. Elaborating on this, Payne said, "People become fanatics for highly personal reasons. I mean, it's more about them and their own psychosis than about that cause." This point has been noted by critics, who reaffirm the common loss in sight made by extremists of the people and issues involved in such debates. A running joke in the movie is a "Success in Finance"-type tape produced by an Amway-type company. Ruth takes the tape and studies it to determine what to do with her newfound money. It is never explained what she does with the money, as the film abruptly ends. Reception Citizen Ruth received positive reviews upon release. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 26 reviews, with an average score of 6.81/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Smart and sharply funny, Citizen Ruth is an entertaining look at a tough subject – and an impressive calling card for debuting director/co-writer Alexander Payne." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-times gave the film three stars out of four praising the film for its "reckless courage to take on both sides in the abortion debate" and for its "gallery of sharp-edged satiric portraits." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly also gave the film a positive review calling the performances "pinpoint perfect", though also suggesting that "movie is a little too aware of its own outrageousness." Todd McCarthy of Variety focused on the fact of Citizen Ruth being Payne's directorial debut, stating, "Director Payne may not yet possess all the skills necessary to completely pull off a full-scale social farce; he could profitably have added more comic invention around the edges, but he does score quite a few points, even-handedly ribbing the extremists in both camps." References External links 1996 films 1996 comedy films 1996 directorial debut films 1990s black comedy films 1996 independent films American independent films 1990s English-language films 1990s political comedy films 1990s satirical films American black comedy films American political satire films American political comedy films Films about abortion Films directed by Alexander Payne Films produced by Cathy Konrad Films