“Ruby Sparks” needs a rewrite

by Thomas Willett

August 16, 2012

Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan in the Dayton/Faris sophomoric film “Ruby Sparks” When directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris hit the scene in 2006 with Little Miss Sunshine, no one could predict how successful it would become. Earning $100 million worldwide and four Oscar nominations, the tale of a dysfunctional family entering a beauty pageant for their daughter became one of the cornerstones for the acceptance of indie comedies in mainstream culture. After a six-year break, they return with Ruby Sparks. Are Dayton and Faris one trick ponies, or is there some lasting power?

The story centers around frustrated novelist Calvin (Paul Dano) as he attempts to write his sophomore book. He visits a therapist (Elliott Gould) and his brother Harry (Chris Messina) encourages him to be promiscuous. It isn’t until he dreams about a girl named Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan) that he becomes inspired and ends up writing her into existence. With a few sentences, he can control her every move, including her ability to speak fluent French or cling to his arm.

The film unintentionally shifts from a light-hearted dissection of dream girls to a third act that feels a little scary. It doesn’t help that composer Nick Urata’s use of strings overbears the tension and creates a claustrophobic sense that Calvin is a control freak. It is a shame because Ruby is such an adorable creation that it is impossible not to sympathize as she is being manipulated. What starts off cute derails for only one scene, but the damage has been done. The choice for Calvin to appear desperate makes the rest of the film feel like a quirky satire on Stockholm syndrome.

Many movies have been made about writers and their creations. Works like Deconstructing Harry went to great lengths to connect the writer’s creations to an emotional plot point. While Ruby is used to fulfill Calvin’s fantasies, it doesn’t add to the story. The majority of the movie manages to waste the potential of Ruby by having upbeat montages set to French pop songs. It sacrifices narrative for frivolity and the results feel meandering. Writer Zoe Kazan also manages to be a little too on the nose with the metahumor that manages to include references to F. Scott Fitzgerald, J.D. Salinger, and the most obvious: What Women Want. The movie feels too excited by the premise that it spends the majority of the dialogue praising it.

The one benefit is that Zoe Kazan is superb as Ruby Sparks. She plays the typical dream girl so perfectly that her charisma overshadows most of the movie. It is the unfortunate pairing with Paul Dano that muddles the relationship. His neurotic nature attributes very little. Even with the premise, the pairing feels familiar and Dano spends most of the movie coming across as desperate and unappealing. The supporting cast feels barely established and contributes nothing substantial. The one stand out is Antonio Banderas, who plays a precocious welder and while not funny, contributes some charm to the supposedly quirky tone.

The biggest problem with this film is not the chemistry, but the general premise. It is predictable and while it takes a dark turn, it ends in the most plausible way. The problem is that Calvin is supposed to grow as a writer. By the end, it feels like he just published all of the sick things that he made Ruby do. Calvin’s history is also ambiguous and makes his struggles harder to accept. The ending destroys any of the good will that the movie tried to establish by not making anyone grow. Add in a scene that feels like a literary version of torture porn, this manages to tear itself away from the feel good romantic comedy that it is being billed as.

Ruby Sparks tries to be a modern update of Deconstructing Harry with a romantic twist, but without the level of craft. By the end, it feels like it has nothing to say and does little to establish Dayton and Faris as anything more than the promising directors behind Little Miss Sunshine. It manages to be more dysfunctional than their previous effort, but not in a good way. While Kazan is a breath of fresh air, this project feels wrong for Dano. He gives it his all, but still comes across too desperate and needy. With a third act that reshapes the overall tone, this is an awkward mess, though not an unwatchable one.