Ruby Sparks: Shining Up the Ordinary

It's not a complicated story. It's a simple fairy tale. Most great love stories begin that way; boy meets girl and they fall for each other. Ruby Sparks doesn't try to be anything grand, it's not Jack and Rose on the Titanic, but through its simplicity it finds a love story that proves surprisingly epic.

Paul Dano plays the tormented novelist Calvin, who after great success with his first book is experiencing a frustrating bout with writers block. He lacks inspiration and being dubbed a "genius" on multiple occasions, by multiple people doesn't help alleviate the pressure.

His brother Harry (Chris Messina) encourages Calvin to hit the gym and to find some friends. But Calvin’s anti-social habits keep him from developing any new relationships, which are crucial to his writing.

He’s stuck. We’ve all been there.

And then, there’s her….Ruby (Zoe Kazan). She comes to Calvin in a dream, drenched in sunlight with red hair and missing one of her high-heeled shoes. When he wakes, BAM!  He hits the typewriter. Soon enough, his fingers are gushing into the metal letters, producing waves of story about his new found lady. Ruby Sparks has cured his immobile imagination.

But then, one morning as Calvin goes downstairs to the kitchen, there she is. Ruby is real and all of a sudden Calvin’s under his desk, panicking into the phone that he has, “An over-active imagination” and assured he’s finally lost it. But come to find out, he hasn’t and Ruby is a living, breathing, beautiful person; even if she happens to be his own creation.

Watching the two fall in love is completely crushing, in a good way, the way that takes us all back to our own true romances. They kiss and touch as laugh all across LA; in the arcade, at the café, the Hollywood cemetery and just as enthusiastically while over a bowl of cereal at home.

But nothing gold can stay, and soon enough reality hits: no relationship is perfect. We’re human after all…but wait, Ruby isn’t. Calvin is tempted back to his typewriter; whatever he writes will come true. Will he try to perfect Ruby’s imperfections?

Although the story is magical, reminiscent of Pygmalion and Stranger Than Fiction, it’s about as relatable as they come. Who doesn’t want to edit their lover’s idiosyncrasies? If we could, would we?  

As clever as the premise is and as relevant as the issues are, the only reason Ruby Sparks really flies is because of Dano and Kazan. Their chemistry produces all kinds of combustion. The script, Zoe Kazan’s first go at a feature film, clearly was inspired by her own life. Kazan and Paul Dano have been dating for four years and although Kazan initially says the script wasn’t about their relationship, Dano begs to differ. In an interview with Cineplex Dano says, “I remember reading the first five pages….and I was like, you’re writing this for me.” And we should thank the cinema stars she did, because Dano is captivating. He never ceases to impress, whether it’s next to giants like Day-Lewis or a tiny-read headed sprite like Kazan. He’s hilarious, heartbreaking and refreshingly real.

Kazan’s a fairly new-kid on the block, let’s ignore the fact that she’s Eli Kazan’s granddaughter and focus more on the evidence that her first try at a film is extremely impressive. And her story couldn’t have been in better hands. The husband-wife duo that brought us Little Miss Sunshine, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, find the heart in Ruby Sparks and let it glow.

I dare you to walk away unscathed. Walk away and don’t think about your own true love. Don’t think about the times you’ve laughed, argued or cried. Don’t think about that someone you’ve never met, the one you dream about, hoping someday you do.

Ruby Sparks  makes it hard not to.