Review of Ruby Sparks (2012) by Jack S — 22 Apr 2014

Calvin- "This is the true and impossible story of my very great love. In the hope that she will not read this and reproach me, I have withheld many telling details: her name, the particulars of her birth and upbringing, and any identifying scars or birth marks. All the same, I cannot help but write this for her, to tell her "I'm sorry for every word I wrote to change you, I'm sorry for so many things. I couldn't see you when you were here and, now that you're gone, I see you everywhere." One may read this and think it's magic, but falling in love is an act of magic, so is writing. It was once said of Catcher In The Rye, "That rare miracle of fiction has again come to pass: a human being has been created out of ink, paper and the imagination." I am no J.D. Salinger, but I have witnessed a rare miracle. Any writer can attest: in the luckiest, happiest state, the words are not coming from you, but through you. She came to me wholly herself, I was just lucky enough to be there to catch her.".

Ruby Sparks is a witty and charming comedy about a man falling in love with a girl. But the girl is real. I liked Ruby Sparks more than I expected. It's like Ruby Sparks is the best Woody Allen movie the Woody Allen never made. This was a weird idea of a movie. Husband and wife, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, made one very successful hit, and that is Little Miss Sunshine. Paul Dano was the star of Little Miss Sunshine, even though he does not speak very much. He is the right fit for Calvin as the title role. But for Zoe Kazan as Ruby Sparks, you've got to applaud. The reason why this is a charming film is for her acting and screenwriting. Different personalities, different moods, every 10 minutes she's a different actor. Apparently, Mr. Dano and Ms. Kazan are currently married. Actually, since 2007. Ruby Sparks gathers a handful of talented actors, and gives the audience a pleasure to watch. This seems like a sort of Matthew Broderick type of film. Broderick would have been quite appealing as Calvin, but Paul Dano does just as well. Overall, just as Calvin says, it's hard to resist Ruby Sparks.