Ruby Sparksby Patti MartinsonReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 6 Calvin is a geeky twenty-something writer with a wildly successful first novel. Calvin, however, has writer's block and is unable to complete a second novel. Challenged by his therapist, Calvin writes about his dream girl, a cute woman he calls Ruby Sparks. Calvin is shocked when Ruby suddenly appears in his life, a real flesh-and-blood person. Calvin also realizes that he can change Ruby on the fly through his writing. If Calvin writes Ruby speaks French, Ruby suddenly speaks French. This seems like a perfect situation, but it soon goes awry as Ruby starts doing things on her own.For a romantic comedy, I found this has more sad and depressing stuff than happy romantic hijinks. Zoe Kazan plays Ruby as an understated manic pixie dream girl; I felt more dismay over her situation than anything else. Paul Dano is slightly off-putting as Calvin, as the character is not endearingly awkward nor all that likeable. Sounding on the surface like it could be a light-hearted froth, the situation is anything but. It is difficult to watch how Calvin treats Ruby when she does things he doesn't like, and how he eventually gets rid of her. I do like the overall concept: that attempting to manipulate someone else to conform to your own liking never results in happiness for either person. And the movie does make clear that even with two real people, the relationship is just about as difficult. We do get some hopeful directions towards the end of the movie, so it wasn't all doom and gloom. Overall, Ruby Sparks has an interesting concept that plays out in rather depressing way, leaving it difficult to really enjoy the movie, despite the ending. Written: October 14, 2013
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