"Ruby Sparks": A Film Review

I figure I'll use this blog space for movie reviews.

A long, long time ago, way back in 2006, the husband-and-wife duo of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris directed their first feature film, Little Miss Sunshine. It became that extremely rare crossover indie hit, winning two Academy Awards, being nominated for two more, and earning over $100 Million worldwide at the box office. It is one of my five favorite films of all time.

So when I heard that they were releasing another film, I was pleased. It's a rare treat when you hear about an indie film that you want to see, and you find out that it's playing near you, so I went and saw it today.

Ruby Sparks stars Paul Dano and relative newcomer Zoe Kazan, who also wrote the film. Dano stars as Calvin Weir-Fields, a prodigy who wrote the Great American Novel at age 19, and has struggled for the next ten years trying to write a follow up. As a result, he becomes depressed and withdrawn from society, at which point I say, "Darn you, directors and Zoe Kazan for spying on me and making a film about it, only without the previously-having-success part!"

So his therapist, played by Elliot Gould, recommends that he writes a small exercise about someone who likes his dog. When he has a dream about a girl who likes his dog, he starts to write about her, dubbing her "Ruby Sparks" played by Kazan. As he writes, he begins to fall in love with his creation. And then she shows up in his house.

This is a brilliantly-written deconstruction of the idea of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" idea. It's an indie romantic-comedy crossed with Frankenstein and The Twilight Zone. An incredibly clever commentary on the idea of the "perfect woman" and the male ego, Ruby Sparks is less of a companion piece to Dayton and Faris' previous film, and more along the lines of (500) Days of Summer. If you enjoyed that, you will probably enjoy this.

Dano is terrific, a potential star-making role for someone who has already shown time after time that he can be a very good actor. You either know someone like Paul Dano in this film, or you ARE Paul Dano. Zoe Kazan will probably be a much more sought-after writer and actress after this, as well she should! Also some great supporting performances from Annette Bening, Steve Coogan, and Antonio Banderas among others.

This is a film worth seeing if you can find it. I don't think it's as good as Little Miss Sunshine, but this is a fun film and you should check it out.

Final Score: 8.5/10