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RUBY SPARKS
(directors: Jonathan Dayton/Valerie Faris;
screenwriter: Zoe Kazan; cinematographer:
Matthew Libatique; editor: Pamela
Martin; music: Nick Urata; cast: Paul
Dano (Calvin Weir-Fields), Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks),
Antonio Banderas (Mort), Annette Bening (Gertrude),
Steve Coogan (Langdon Tharp), Elliott Gould (Dr.
Rosenthal), Chris Messina (Harry), Alia Shawkat
(Mabel), Aasif Mandvi (Cyrus Modi), Toni Trucks
(Susie), Deborah Ann Woll (Lila); Runtime: 104;
MPAA Rating: R; producers: Albert Berger/Ron
Yerxa; Fox Searchlight Pictures;
2012) "A tepidly humored cerebral gimmicky fantasy film." Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz A
tepidly humored cerebral gimmicky fantasy film set
in the luxurious Hollywood Hills, that offers its
unique take on the Pygmalion myth.
It's about a timid, self-absorbed, nerdy 29-year-old
writer, Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul
Dano, real-life boyfriend of Zoe Kazan), who
ten years ago, after dropping out of high school,
wrote a great best-selling novel but recently
suffers from depression and writer's block. The
forlorn Calvin is assigned by his therapist (Elliott
Gould) to a one-page
writing assignment about a dream girl he
imagines and the patient conjures up a muse he would
love to get romantic with, Ruby Sparks (Zoe
Kazan, Elia Kazan’s
granddaughter), and through movie magic she
turns out to be for real (which passes as
unexplained at how this is possible) as a
26-year-old painter from Dayton, Ohio. Co-directors
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris ("Little Miss
Sunshine") try in a heavy-handed manner
to spice up this cutesy premise with Calvin losing
track of what's real and what's fiction, the only
problem Ruby is perceived as real by his supportive
but irritatingly crass brother (Chris Messina),
who does so fearing bro is going crazy. Ruby's part is
written without sex appeal-she's the bubbly kind of
chick-as the couple go through a rather immature
relationship that gets its cues as Calvin types the
manuscript and dictates her actions. The
screenplay by Ms. Kazan tries to take a crack at how
women are perceived by men writers and tries to get
something psychological worked up about the male
author being a control freak who wants Ruby to follow
the script he writes for her and when she rebels he
overreacts. Ruby is viewed only as a movie character
mouthing the author's agenda of taking some pot shots
at Hollywood roles for actress roles being so limited.
Though it makes a few minor points about women
misrepresented in Hollywood by nerdy male writers, but
leaves that hanging for a dull conclusion that brings
the rom-com down for a safe landing. The
film voices affection for literary lions such as
J. D. Salinger and F. Scott Fitzgerald, fantasy movies
such as Harvey and movie legends like Bogie. In minor
roles as eccentric characters are Annette
Bening and Antonio Banderas as Calvin' Big
Sur living hippie mother and her live-in
avant-garde hippie boyfriend
furniture maker;
while Steve Coogan is an uncouth
literary agent figure, who mentors the
author. REVIEWED ON 9/15/2012 GRADE: C Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews" © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ |