Ruby Sparks

There has been a lot of uncoventional love stories that has surfaced in contemporary Hollywood films. 2 years ago, I was amazed with how witty and realistic 500 Days of Summer was. The latter was just an example that love stories need not to be a fairy tale to be loved by viewers. It was a breath of fresh air to see movies that defies what is norm. This year, another movie tries to live up with what 500 Days of Summer had: realism and wit.

Ruby Sparks tells about a disillusioned young writer who is running out of ideas for a new book. He associated it with the lack of socialism and inspiration as he tends to be anti-social at first. It clearly state that the greatest of minds are usually the autistic ones. Calvin (Paul Dano) sees a psychologist as a method to relieve the stresses of a writer having writer's block. As Calvin ventures off to write a book, he is quickly inspired by a woman who has shown up in his dreams and begins writing about her, calling her Ruby Sparks. As the writing progresses, he feels that he is connected with the woman romantically even though she doesn't really exist. All became completely different when he woke up one morning when Ruby Sparks is in his house, real and tangible. What made things even better is that Calvin has control over Ruby by writing things about her. This became the central theme of the film. How would they be able to maintain the relationship? Will Ruby be able to see her purpose aside from what Calvin wants?

Simple. Poignant. Straight to the point. These are the words that can describe the film. It did not dwell on the magic about bringing a person to life from a figment of imagination, rather, it emphasizes on the consequences of the events. There were no glittery and sparkly effects to impose the events of bringing Ruby Sparks to life. She simply appeared during Calvin's sleep. The situations are not even above the top. There were no overblown lines that drags a lot of films which can sometimes be very repetitive. The writer and the director simply resorted to simple dialogues that really hits the spot.

Ruby Sparks are one of the films that say, "I can make a magical movie without the glitter but I can still pull a tear out of you and hope for a love like this be true." Zoe Kazan who played Ruby Sparks is also the film's scriptwriter. Somehow, Kazan's wit is almost similar with Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) however, Kazan can really pull off drama really good. Kazan and Dano's performance are also beyond expectations.

The simplicity of the film is one of its best asset. The script is well made and made me a fan out of Kazan. Ruby Sparks is one unconventional love story that an avid moviegoer or a hopeless romantic wouldn't want to miss.

GRADE: A-

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