Ten years after achieving great success with his first novel, Calvin (Paul Dano) is under pressure to produce his next masterpiece with huge expectations from his fans and publishers. He is also terribly shy and lonely, and struggles with writer's block. His only piece of inspiration comes from a dream where he meets his ideal woman, named Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan). Encouraged by his therapist Dr. Rosenthal (Elliot Gould), he writes about her. Then one day she magically appears in his house just the way he saw her in his dreams. Is she real or a hallucination? Has Calvin gone mad?
Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton finally follow up their hit Little Miss Sunshine with this delightful indie fantasy / psychological drama / love story, written by Zoe Kazan who also stars in the film as Ruby. Kazan's script is a beautifully written, smart piece of work that looks at the difficulties of the creative process as well as the dynamics of a new relationship, controlling behavior fuelled by insecurity and jealousy, and learning to accept people for who they are.
Calvin gets his wish fulfilled and wakes up to the "perfect" girfriend who worships him, but as soon as Ruby displays a personality trait he doesn't approve of, he seeks to manipulate her by literally typing out what happens next, with often humorous and at times unsettling consequences. At his whim she speaks French, barks like a dog, etc. Without spoiling the rest of the story, I'll just say it keeps you guessing all the way along. It builds to a frenzied climax, followed by a more conventional, perhaps crowd-pleasing, resolution.
Dano and Kazan's on screen chemistry is excellent, no doubt helped by the fact that they are a couple in real life, four years together at the time of filming. Elliot Gould, Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas breeze through their supporting roles, Chris Messina is very good as Calvin's suspicious sibling (though he looks nothing like him!) and only Steve Coogan's slimy author Langdon is a bit of a distraction (couldn't help but think of Alan Partridge in one particular scene!) Overall, it's hard not to fall in love with Ruby Sparks. It's a charming little film and it easily makes my top 10 of the year.
Calvin gets his wish fulfilled and wakes up to the "perfect" girfriend who worships him, but as soon as Ruby displays a personality trait he doesn't approve of, he seeks to manipulate her by literally typing out what happens next, with often humorous and at times unsettling consequences. At his whim she speaks French, barks like a dog, etc. Without spoiling the rest of the story, I'll just say it keeps you guessing all the way along. It builds to a frenzied climax, followed by a more conventional, perhaps crowd-pleasing, resolution.
Dano and Kazan's on screen chemistry is excellent, no doubt helped by the fact that they are a couple in real life, four years together at the time of filming. Elliot Gould, Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas breeze through their supporting roles, Chris Messina is very good as Calvin's suspicious sibling (though he looks nothing like him!) and only Steve Coogan's slimy author Langdon is a bit of a distraction (couldn't help but think of Alan Partridge in one particular scene!) Overall, it's hard not to fall in love with Ruby Sparks. It's a charming little film and it easily makes my top 10 of the year.
UK release date: 12th October 2012
