053. Citizen Ruth

053. (06 Feb) Citizen Ruth (1996, Alexander Payne) 76



Considering how middlebrow his work is now, it's hard to recall Alexander Payne once made exceptional edgy comedies. Citizen Ruth is the ballsiest of them all, going full force at both pro-life and pro-choice radicals. It's sharp-toothed comedy at its finest thanks to the always wonderful Laura Dern. She finds humor in places where there shouldn't be any, crafting a character who's too self-centered and oblivious to realize her own awfulness. Most of the supporting cast is super, namely Mary Kay Place and Swoosie Kurtz. Burt Reynolds' appearance as an evangelical pro-lifer with a child assistant who massages him shirtless is a rare misstep; it's a broad joke in a film that's otherwise above that.

049. Smooth Talk

049. (10 Feb) Smooth Talk (1985, Joyce Chopra) 60



Laura Dern makes a delightful impression here, especially in the strong first hour. As an alluring, lost teenager, you get a wonderful sense of how foolish and idealistic the age can be. She and her friends flirt with boys at the mall and put themselves in dangerous situations in attempts to win male attention.

When her innocence is lost as a mysterious stranger arrives, the film certainly loses its footing. The stranger is played intriguingly, but not brilliantly by Treat Williams. It's hardly his fault that the film loses itself at this point. It's being true to Joyce Carol Oates' story, though the ending is far less ambiguous.