Ruby Sparks opens with the title character (Zoe Kazan) back-lit by the sun in a dream sequence and walking towards the camera. In voice-over narration, she tells young author Calvin (Paul Dano) that she has been waiting for him. And Calvin, you could say, has been waiting for her to, for his next bright idea.
Cut to him waking up, walking through his house with its plain white walls to his writing room, which is also surrounding by white walls. He has just had a dream, but doesn't know what to do with it. His mind, like his walls, is a blank slate, waiting for a burst of inspiration.
In Jonathan Dayton's and Valerie Faris' romantic comedy, Ruby Sparks, they explore the interaction between an author and his ideas. In this film, however, those interactions take on a stronger and more intimate meaning because the author's idea is a living, breathing person.
Calvin is a talented author who wrote a bestselling novel when he was only 19, but has been unable to write anything as good ever since, and is now hindered by a bad case of writer's block. His therapist (Elliott Gould) gives him a writing assignment: to write about someone who likes Calvin's unfriendly dog, Scotty. He dreams of a girl, who he names Ruby Sparks, and writes several pages about her. One morning, Calvin awakens to find her making breakfast in his kitchen. The two then begin an unconventional relationship, with Calvin being able to control Ruby with whatever he types on a page.
Zoe Kazan is glowing as Calvin's lively, beautiful muse. What's so intriguing about her character is that she's the personification of imagination; she's not just simply the author's idea that came to life. Her personality is volatile because Calvin has the ability to control her with whatever he writes, just like how we control our own imaginations. She's almost, sadly, his captive. When her emotions hit, they hit hard, and you feel horrible for her because you know these aren't her real emotions, but what she is written to feel.
Paul Dano is a strong representation of a struggling writer. Once a bestselling author, he is now someone digging through his brain for a new idea. He doesn't possess much luck with women, takes his dog for walks to avoid expected unsuccessful attempts to create words and spends time on his therapist's couch asking for advice. We also learn his deeper flaws through a very telling encounter with his ex-girlfriend.
In one particular scene, Calvin's sexual frustration peeks through. In anger of seeing Ruby almost get with another man at a party, he reveals the power he has over her by typing furiously into his typewriter, writing for her to speak French, snap her fingers and continuously shout "You're a genius!" like an obsessed fan, and girlfriend, who he wishes he can have again. This is to the point where he reaches a level of subtle sexual gratification from it.
With the supporting characters, Chris Messina is terrific as Calvin's helpful brother. As wonderful as it is to see the always-shining presence of Annette Bening and the funny Antonio Banderas as Calvin's hippie mother and stepfather, they are, unfortunately, only given one scene. You feel as if more should have been written for them, especially because of how experienced they are.
The screenplay by Zoe Kazan will draw some comparisons with the 2006 comedy Stranger than Fiction with the way they involve the relationship between an author and his designs. Despite some similarities, they are, however, different in each of their own approach. Whereas Stranger rarely has the author and subject meet, Ruby Sparks is all about the intimate interactions between the two. The film's ideas are fascinating, if only the ending wasn't a tad cliched.
Dayton and Faris provide a dramatic tone in the mix with the comedy, as they did for their directorial debut, Little Miss Sunshine. They manage to imbue some intelligent relationship drama into their comical situations, just like what they did with familial drama in LMS. The boyfriend-girlfriend dynamic of Calvin and Ruby is a smart backdrop to the writing process that homes the dynamic of an author and his idea. Just like Calvin having the status of a bestseller, Ruby Sparks deserves one as such.
Final grade: B+
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