In this quirky summer romantic comedy, written by lead actress Zoe
Kazan, acclaimed novelist Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) finds himself unable to write.
His shrink (Elliott Gould) suggests that Calvin write about someone who totally
accepts his toy dog, and that night Calvin begins writing about a woman he had dreamed about. He names her Ruby Sparks.
His brother Harry (Chris Messina)
reads his work, but he says she is totally unreal. Then one day Calvin wakes up
and finds that Ruby is quite real and living with him. Calvin thinks he is hallucinating,
but he discovers that other people can also see her. He decides to accept this
miracle as a godsend. Only later does he begin to realize it might be a curse.
Although Ruby is totally devoted to him, Calvin discovers he
can also make her do whatever he wants by typing it into his novel.
The film plays was lots of speculations. What would happen if you could create your
perfect mate? What kind of responsibility does the writer have toward his
creation? Do you want someone in your life who you control or is it better to have someone who thinks
and acts for themselves? Do we want people in our lives who are unpredictable?
The actors are fun to watch. Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan have good chemistry and make
offbeat romantic leads, with their non-Hollywood looks and eccentric personalities. When
Calvin takes Ruby to meet his free spirit mother (Annette Bening) and his
furniture-maker step-father (Antonio Banderas), Calvin questions whether he
wants to share Ruby at all.
As the film meanders through the aspects of the couple’s
relationship, it gets dark. Happily, the resolution feels
sensible, and although I felt like I had seen the ending before, it fits.
I liked seeing True Blood’s vampire Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) play Calvin former girl-friend.
Enjoy this film.
Ruby Sparks (2012) ****
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