Ruby Sparks (2012)

A novelist struggling with writer's block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence.

Directors:

Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

Writer:

Zoe Kazan

Stars:

Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Annette Bening

1 win & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Dano	...	Calvin Weir-Fields
Zoe Kazan	...	Ruby Sparks
Chris Messina	...	Harry
Annette Bening	...	Gertrude
Antonio Banderas	...	Mort
Aasif Mandvi	...	Cyrus Modi
Steve Coogan	...	Langdon Tharp
Toni Trucks	...	Susie
Deborah Ann Woll	...	Lila
Elliott Gould	...	Dr. Rosenthal
Alia Shawkat	...	Mabel
Jane Anne Thomas	...	Saskia
John F. Beach	...	Adam
Eleanor Seigler	...	Mandi
Emma Julia Jacobs	...	Party Goer at Langdon's

Storyline

Calvin is a genius novelist who begins to type a new novel on his manual typewriter about Ruby, his dream girl. He can't believe his eyes, because the next day, Ruby becomes a real person, and they begin to have a beautiful relationship together. If the relationship isn't perfect, all Calvin has to do is simply type the words on the page and Ruby's actions change to what he needs.

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Plot Keywords:

imaginary character made real | writer's block | book comes to life | reference to f. scott fitzgerald | best selling author | 

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Taglines:

She's out of his mind.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including some sexual references, and for some drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

Zoe Kazan, who plays Ruby Sparks, also wrote the screenplay for this film.

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Goofs

In their way to Big Sur, when they stop a while near the sea and leave the car, Ruby is carrying a purse. Immediately later, when they are playing "who kills the other first" you can see no purse at all.

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Quotes

Harry: Quirky, messy women whose problems only make them endearing are not real.

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

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Soundtracks

Your Name and Mine
Written by Vincent Catalano
Performed by The Acorns
Courtesy of Lee Silver Productions

User Reviews

Touching Romantic Fantasy of Writer's Creation Come to Life

I liked the movie a lot. I felt very moved and intrigued both by the premise and the complications to move the story along.

Big but: The lead character, Calvin, is not believable as a "genius novelist" nor even as a pretty good one. Why? He has no idea how to make Ruby, whom he completely controls, subtle and complex the way any good novelist would his characters.

He paints her happy and sad, joyful and childishly clinging with such broad brush strokes he is an incompetent "inventor" of a character/person, let alone his dream girl. If you or I created an automaton, WE might swing back and forth to the extremes while trying to adjust his/her behavior. Calvin should be an expert not a tyro at subtle shades of behavior. Granted, if he got her just right, we would have no crisis to force the story to a resolution.

And the resolution is Hollywood sugar. In Europe or Israel, the hero would be left with the sad results of his failure. (He stares out to sea on a deserted beach to ponder what happened and his bleak future?) Here, the filmmakers insist we leave the theater feeling good about Calvin and Ruby.

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Searchlight [United States] Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

6 September 2012 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

He Loves Me

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$140,822, 29 July 2012

Gross USA:

$2,540,106

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,368,803

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Bona Fide Productions, DragonCove Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Datasat SDDS Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1