Ruthie & Connie: Every Room in the House - Special Edition

2014 • 63 minutes

About this movie

Set deep in working class Jewish Brooklyn - this vérité documentary follows two very funny, if rather traditional housewives. First, like so many young women in the 1950's, they got married. Then, like so many young women in the 1970s, they got divorced. Unlike most, however, they both left their husbands for another woman: each other. They had fallen madly and passionately in love. For Connie, it was liberating. For Ruth, it was wrenching. And for the community that loved them so much, it was the scandal of the century. In a landmark case in 1988, they sued the New York City Board of Education for domestic partner benefits. Overnight, they became national heroines - and after a five-year struggle, they made history again when they won those benefits not only for themselves, but for all New York City employees, straight and gay. The suit, the first of its kind, helped pave the way for what has now become the LGBT community's crusade for full civil rights and marriage equality. Yet, RUTHIE & CONNIE is much more than a film about two activists and their gut wrenching coming-out story. It's about taking risks and challenging values; it's about two women who spent much of their lives doing "the right thing" - until they discovered that it just wasn't right for them. Framed by the feminist movement and gay liberation, RUTHIE & CONNIE dares the world to take a new look at traditional "apple-pie" values: family, community, religious beliefs, justice - and above all, love. Whether marching in the Gay Pride Parade, or dancing on the Coney Island boardwalk, they are clever, passionate, angry -- and always entertaining. They talk. They argue. They swim. They cook. They dance. They laugh. They rage against injustice. They cry. They sing old tunes. They are unabashedly romantic. They also dearly want this film, as they put it, "to continue to help people think and act differently." Today, Ruthie and Connie are now legally married after decades of sharing unparalleled love.

Ratings and reviews

Although this is a love story it also a story about courage. This couple are pioneers. They helped to change law. They left the Orthodox Jewish Community and still kept their faith. Together, they are filled with love, joy, and wisdom only their lives can relay to us. I highly reccomned this movie. For all ages. And for the family. Love wins! Thank you, Ruthie & Connie !!

Awesome movie...