I was having dinner with a friend a week ago when she asks me if I've seen Ruby Sparks, a romantic comedy-drama directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the same people behind Little Miss Sunshine. Unfortunately, I've watched neither, until I watched the first movie his evening.
Ruby Sparks, written by Zoe Kazan who doubles as the female lead, tells the story of Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano), a writer struggling to write a follow-up to his successful first novel. Calvin has no friends other than his dog Scotty and brother Harry (Chris Messina).
He regularly sees a therapist named Dr. Rosenthal (Elliott Gould). The therapist recommends that Calvin could use Scotty as a reason to talk with women while they walked around the park. Unfortunately, Scotty is a very shy dog that women don't seem to like.
Thus, Dr. Rosenthal tries something else. He gives Calvin an assignment: write about a woman in the park, a special woman who actually likes Scotty. Inspired by this, Calvin dreams about a woman in the park who draws a picture of Scotty and says she likes him.
Calvin wakes up and starts writing nonstop for days about this woman, whom he names Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan). A few days into his writing project, Calvin is shocked to see the once fictional Ruby in his kitchen. He can see her, hear her, and feel her. Once he realizes others can too, he is resigned to the reality that she is a real person.
Calvin introduces Ruby to Harry, who is understandably skeptical at first. But when Calvin demonstrates that Ruby does follow whatever is written in his story, Harry has no choice, but to believe.
In the beginning, Calvin and Ruby live happily together. But Ruby experiences more and more of real life things start to change, and the story of Ruby Sparks begins in earnest.
My Review:
Ruby Sparks is a unique and endearing love story, whose appeal and impact is enhanced especially by Zoe Kazan as the movie's writer and leading lady.
Kazan plays Ruby, Calvin's ideal woman, who seems like a cookie-cut version of Zooey Deschanel's Summer Fin character in (500) Days of Summer. Eerily, the two actresses share a similar sounding first name and even look alike in some ways.
The difference lies mainly in the fact that Kazan's acting has tremendous depth and bite, especially in this one scene where I had to lower the volume to almost mute. The movie may be a romantic comedy-drama, but at times it's more like a romantic drama-thriller.
Paul Dano did a great job of playing Calvin as well. As a fellow struggling writer, I often times found myself empathizing with him throughout the movie. The chemistry between Kazan and Dano is undeniable and this translated very well in the relationship of Ruby and Calvin.
The movie is a bit long, but I didn't mind the downtime in some parts. I believe they all contributed to the buildup of the story. I especially like the part where Ruby and Calvin visit the home of Calvin's parents and the scenarios that followed. It was all so beautiful and helped flesh-out their characters more.
Women who love Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice dream about finding their Mr. Darcy someday. Imagine Mr. Darcy appearing in Austen's kitchen one day? How happy would George R.R. Martin be is his Khaleesi popped out of his fireplace this Christmas? I can only imagine how much of a dream come true Ruby Sparks being real was for Calvin.
Writers have the power to control worlds like Middle Earth and characters like The Boy Who Lived. What if the one ring was never destroyed? What if the Harry Potter died at the hands of Voldemort? What can a writer do to his worlds and characters without destroying them for the reader in the process? These issues were addressed in the movie as well.
Ruby Sparks also talks about the nature of love. Calvin is a control freak who doesn't handle chaos and uncertainty well. As he realizes that his supposed ideal woman isn't as perfect as she seems he has two choices. He can let her be a normal imperfect person, or he can control her with his writing while losing the essence of who she really is. He has control in his writing, but will he let his writing control reality?
On a lighter note, I wonder what it would be like to have my own Ruby Sparks appear in my kitchen one morning. What would I do if that happened?
This movie is amazing! One of my all-time favorites!
My Rating:
5 out of 5
Ruby Sparks, written by Zoe Kazan who doubles as the female lead, tells the story of Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano), a writer struggling to write a follow-up to his successful first novel. Calvin has no friends other than his dog Scotty and brother Harry (Chris Messina).
He regularly sees a therapist named Dr. Rosenthal (Elliott Gould). The therapist recommends that Calvin could use Scotty as a reason to talk with women while they walked around the park. Unfortunately, Scotty is a very shy dog that women don't seem to like.
Thus, Dr. Rosenthal tries something else. He gives Calvin an assignment: write about a woman in the park, a special woman who actually likes Scotty. Inspired by this, Calvin dreams about a woman in the park who draws a picture of Scotty and says she likes him.
Calvin wakes up and starts writing nonstop for days about this woman, whom he names Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan). A few days into his writing project, Calvin is shocked to see the once fictional Ruby in his kitchen. He can see her, hear her, and feel her. Once he realizes others can too, he is resigned to the reality that she is a real person.
Calvin introduces Ruby to Harry, who is understandably skeptical at first. But when Calvin demonstrates that Ruby does follow whatever is written in his story, Harry has no choice, but to believe.
In the beginning, Calvin and Ruby live happily together. But Ruby experiences more and more of real life things start to change, and the story of Ruby Sparks begins in earnest.
My Review:
Ruby Sparks is a unique and endearing love story, whose appeal and impact is enhanced especially by Zoe Kazan as the movie's writer and leading lady.
Kazan plays Ruby, Calvin's ideal woman, who seems like a cookie-cut version of Zooey Deschanel's Summer Fin character in (500) Days of Summer. Eerily, the two actresses share a similar sounding first name and even look alike in some ways.
The difference lies mainly in the fact that Kazan's acting has tremendous depth and bite, especially in this one scene where I had to lower the volume to almost mute. The movie may be a romantic comedy-drama, but at times it's more like a romantic drama-thriller.
Paul Dano did a great job of playing Calvin as well. As a fellow struggling writer, I often times found myself empathizing with him throughout the movie. The chemistry between Kazan and Dano is undeniable and this translated very well in the relationship of Ruby and Calvin.
The movie is a bit long, but I didn't mind the downtime in some parts. I believe they all contributed to the buildup of the story. I especially like the part where Ruby and Calvin visit the home of Calvin's parents and the scenarios that followed. It was all so beautiful and helped flesh-out their characters more.
Women who love Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice dream about finding their Mr. Darcy someday. Imagine Mr. Darcy appearing in Austen's kitchen one day? How happy would George R.R. Martin be is his Khaleesi popped out of his fireplace this Christmas? I can only imagine how much of a dream come true Ruby Sparks being real was for Calvin.
Writers have the power to control worlds like Middle Earth and characters like The Boy Who Lived. What if the one ring was never destroyed? What if the Harry Potter died at the hands of Voldemort? What can a writer do to his worlds and characters without destroying them for the reader in the process? These issues were addressed in the movie as well.
Ruby Sparks also talks about the nature of love. Calvin is a control freak who doesn't handle chaos and uncertainty well. As he realizes that his supposed ideal woman isn't as perfect as she seems he has two choices. He can let her be a normal imperfect person, or he can control her with his writing while losing the essence of who she really is. He has control in his writing, but will he let his writing control reality?
On a lighter note, I wonder what it would be like to have my own Ruby Sparks appear in my kitchen one morning. What would I do if that happened?
This movie is amazing! One of my all-time favorites!
My Rating:
5 out of 5
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