Ruby Sparks (2012)
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A struggling novelist's fictional character comes to life, forcing him to confront the reality of his own creation.
The story
Calvin Weir-Fields is a successful novelist who struggles to form real relationships and find inspiration for his next book. Following a dream and a therapist's suggestion, he begins writing about a woman named Ruby Sparks. To his shock, the character manifests as a living person in his home. As Calvin navigates the complexities of a relationship with a woman who is literally his creation, he must grapple with the consequences of his imagination becoming reality and the difficulty of distinguishing his idealized vision of her from her actual, independent identity.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Calvin Weir-Fields, a novelist struggling with writer's block, begins writing about a woman named Ruby Sparks after a dream. Ruby suddenly manifests as a living person in his home. While Calvin falls in love with her, he realizes that her personality and actions are dictated by his writing. As their relationship grows, Calvin's attempts to control her through his prose lead to complications; when he writes her as happy, he becomes miserable, and when he writes her as miserable, she becomes clingy. After a confrontation at a party where Ruby is nearly taken by another man, Calvin uses his writing to force her into a series of humiliating acts to prove his control. Eventually, he writes a final passage granting her freedom. After she disappears, Calvin finds success writing a memoir about their time together. Years later, he meets a woman who resembles Ruby, and they agree to start over without him revealing the truth of her origin.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 104
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jonathan Dayton; Valerie Faris
- Writers
- Zoe Kazan · writer
- Cast and characters
- Paul Dano · Calvin Weir-Fields; Zoe Kazan · Ruby Tiffany Sparks; Antonio Banderas · Mort; Annette Bening · Gertrude; Steve Coogan · Langdon Tharp; Elliott Gould · Dr. Rosenthal; Chris Messina · Harry Weir-Fields; Alia Shawkat · Mabel; Aasif Mandvi · Cyrus Modi; Toni Trucks · Susie Weir-Fields; Deborah Ann Woll · Lila
- Genres
- romantic comedy; fantasy
- Themes
- the danger of idealizing a person; the difference between imagination and reality
- Tone and mood
- romantic; whimsical
- Premise and plot tags
- magical realism; romance
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics, described as a cleverly written and well-acted romantic comedy with charm and wit.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 79% · scale: percentage · review count: 183
- Production trivia
- The script was inspired by a discarded mannequin and the myth of Pygmalion.; The film was shot in locations including the Silver Lake and Los Feliz neighborhoods.; The party scene was filmed in the John Sowden House, designed by Lloyd Wright.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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