Title: Ruby Sparks
Year: 2012
Genre: Comedy, Fantastic, Romantic
Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Writer: Zoe Kazan
Runtime: 104min
Cast: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Chris Messina, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas, Aasif Mandvi, Steve Coogan, Elliott Gould
In Ruby Sparks, Calvin (Paul Dano) is a successful novelist suffering from creative block, until, sleeping, he dreams of an imaginary girl (Zoe Kazan), that not only inspires him, but also suddenly comes to life.
By no means I intend to defend the Academy Awards. Not that I pretend to say that these are good or bad, because (business or non-business) supposedly it´s members have to reward, by voting, according to the subjective likes of each of one of them, and in that, I do not see anything wrong. Then, that what this people vote, is not, in fact, the absolute truth, is another matter.
2006 was for independent Little Miss Sunshine, a positive year. It would be Oscar-nominated in four categories, keeping the best supporting actor and best writing.
And I repeat, that the opinion of these people should not mean anything. However, personally, I still dare to recognize when they stand out, what has been, I think, a good writing. Deserved or not, the award, Michael Arndt's sceenplay was great. Something that would not happened again with the script of his successor, Zoe Kazan, working with the same directors.
Ruby Sparks would take a different direction. Now with a young novelist, who, not even his therapist (Elliott Gould) would manage to help him enshape his ideas. Something for which he would have to resort to the dream world.
A girl talks to Calvin. We do not understand much of what she says, but that does not matter, because Calvin wakes up on his couch, super inspired, and runs to his typewriter (some still prefer them, to computers), where he writes full speed.
In another session, Calvin has trouble expressing Dr. Rosenthal, that, very weird thing, that is happening to him, until he finally does it. The thing is that, who has come to enlight him is a girl who does not even exist and for whom, for worse, he is falling. Calvin is able to describe Ruby, his new character, with clarity of details, both physically, in personality, or her biography. But most important is that writing is flowing back.
My rating: 3/10
Until something strange happens.
Ruby suddenly appear at his house, speaking to him (as if it were the most normal thing), to what Calvin goes crazy.
A couple of situations that follow, one with his brother (Chris Messina), and another, with a fan, give to understand that his Ruby is as real as it seems. Along with Harry, he makes an experiment and discovers that everything that he writes of her, materializes. Something that is great, but crazy.
Unfortunately, this good concept is quickly shot down by Kazan, who also plays Ruby.
Calvin is soon, no longer astonished, to accept Ruby as the girl with whom he lives. From this, what we are shown is how the bond evolves, with its good and its bad moments, turning the film, to a large degree, into a typical juvenile drama on friction couple. Everything that, within the fantasy, could have been great, is lost, and almost everything that follows is a waste.
Ruby Sparks comes to be about the conflicts between a girl who does not seem capable of behaving properly, and her jealous and possessive boyfriend, which adapts to a new girlfriend, as is things were just normal.
With the problems between Ruby and Calvin, coming and going, Kazan takes too long to show us what we want more, which is, how a girl who came out of a sheet, written in ink, functions. So Kazan does not give to the magical aspect, it´s actual needed space.
The handled premise is, that Calvin, to such point, is unable to talk to Ruby, that he opts to balance her with writing. Only in the last few minutes, is he taken to the extreme of possessiveness. When the differences between them have become too many, is that he solves to tell Ruby of the most extraordinary aspects of her existence. In a final scene, where Calvin becomes aggressive (though not in a verbal or physical way) uses his typewriter to drive her crazy, forcing her to do what he wants, just by typing in it.
In conclusion, I think Kazan could have made of the magic power of the written word, the current element to be emphasized, and the movie would have gotten better.
I can not, however, forget to mention of the excelent fate that Kazan gives to Ruby, when, for Calvin, it has come the time to say: enough!
My rating: 3/10
