Review of Ruby Sparks (2012) by Monica D — 01 Feb 2013

"Goodbye, Ruby Sparks; who could hang a name on you?" Well, actually, with only a few writing touch-ups, Paul Dano's Calvin Weir-Fields character could name the titular literary and literal dream girl anything he wants, like, say, Princess Consuela Bananahammock ("Friends" fans, anyone?), but he won't, because Zoe Kazan is... I guess supposed to be the perfect woman. No, Zoe Kazan is reasonably cute and all, or at least her bum is, as this film's pool scene will tell you (Don't get too excited, folks, by cute, I mean still a bit too white), but seriously, I don't know about y'all, but I think I would be looking to "spark" things up if I could come up with a fantasy woman. Of course, in all fairness, Paul Dano is actually dating Kazan in real life, so I don't think he could be saying too much about how he could improve his girlfriend, no matter how much Kazan looks kind of like the female, well, Paul Dano (Oh, Paul, you arrogant punk, no wonder you like her), only less slimy-looking, which is ironic, considering that her grandfather was known for being mighty slimy. I don't know about the streets, but there was definately some panic going on in Elia Kazan's social life when he was getting his buddies into some major junk during the McCarthy era, which is most definately not to be mistaken for the much less terrifying Paul McCarthy era, even if Josepth McCarthy was trying to get the commies "back in the U.S.S.R". Eh, whatever, Elia Kazan was still a pretty talented filmmaker, or at least paved the way for a talented legacy, like Zoe Kazan, who is showing potential for being more than just a cute, Paul Dano-resembling face. Of course, this film is hardly "sparkling" (Real quick, sorry about all of these puns), being far from the disaster that Elia Kazan's social life ended up being, but still held back by more than a few factors.

As I'll touch upon later, there is a fair bit to this film that really is unique, or at least reasonably refreshing, so much so that I would hardly consider the final product all that conventional, and yet, with that said, for every series of refreshing spots in plotting, there is a slip into trope that isn't too deep, but just deep enough to betray this film's uniqueness. It all comes down to an ending that fits just fine with the film's tone and is rather likable, but a tiny bit of a cheap-out, and not just because it's backed by more than a few holes, turning in an almost commercial kind of happy ending that may be enjoyable on an emotional level, but remains a bit too predictable, reflecting the film's tendency to slip into the conventions that it manages to keep at bay at plenty of moments. Of course, it's not like you would have all that much trouble seeing where things are going in plot if the film's story was somehow all but entirely cleansed of conventions, for although the film is hardly inconsequential, being driven by a conflict that may hold a somewhat predictable outcome, but still stands, there really is only so much weight to that conflict because there's only so much weight to the story surrounding it. The film compels adequately, and rarely, if ever ceases to do just that, but really, this film's story concept doesn't boast much potential for intrigue, as quite decidedly reflected by the thin spots in the story concept's execution, which emphasizes natural shortcomings through story structuring of only so much momentum that leaves repetition to set in after a while, if not go accompanied by a hint of all-out aimlessness. Sure, the film compensates with more entertainment value than I was expecting, and when conflict does bulk up a bit, genuine compellingness ensues to refresh your investment, though such investment goes distanced to a certain degree by natural shortcomings, as well as more consequential shortcomings in concept execution that reflect the limit of meat to this film's story concept in the first place. There is very little to really complain about with this film, and quite a bit to compliment, but is only so much to truly praise, as this film was never to be the kind to hit you all that hard, and with conventions and overly thin spots in plotting reflecting that, the final product comes out to be only almost as good as it can be. Of course, that's hardly all that much of a bad thing, because even though this film is as naturally imperfect as its titular dream girl, there's enough to its concept to craft the potential for the rewarding film that this final product ultimately is, and for quite a few reasons.

With all of my complaints about how this film gets to be conventional, particularly with the ending that may be enjoyable, but is still technically problematic, when I said that this film has its unique touches, I meant it, as this film, while not the most refreshing out there, is still fairly refreshing enough to distance itself, not from storytelling tropes, but from characterization tropes to boast a certain genuineness to it that helps in winning you over, at least to the script by Zoe Kazan herself. Kazan graces her story concept with some unique spots, but her script's strengths don't simply end with the development of plot, as Kazan all but makes up for the repetition and borderline aimlessness of her story structuring with plenty of clever dialogue and cute humor that rarely, if ever gets to be too cheesy, and charm thoroughly with its wit and color. The punch-up in Kazan's script is most certainly lively, and when it comes to characterization, that is where Kazan truly delivers on consistent strength, crafting no character or major plot aspect that is too original or grippingly colorful, but still putting a lot work into fleshing out the components to this "magical realist" story, to where you can surprisingly quite easily see through the film's extremely fantastical concepts, and into the thematic depth beyond that helps in bringing this story to life, regardless of its shortcomings and pronounced, yet somehow barely noticeable absurdities. What further sells you on this film is, of course, the duo directorial performance by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who make their big comeback to feature film directing after the 2006 indie hit "Little Miss Sunshine" a worthy one by not only turning in a couple of nifty stylish touches that reflect their experience in the music video industry, but keeping atmosphere more lively than I expected, not to where the film is consistently loads of fun, but certainly to where the film entertains consistently, and when it comes to the darker and more dramatic notes that especially hit the scene pretty hard in the film's final act, Dayton and Faris deliver on strong emotional resonance that leaves tonal shifts to flow organically, and rewards the viewers considerably, regardless of the improvable final note that is still enjoyable, largely thanks to the inspiration behind its handling by Dayton and Faris. The strength within the directorial performance behind this film feels rather effortless, and that's a large reason why Dayon's and Faris' storytelling doesn't hit as much as it could have, as this film boasts a naturally flawed story concept whose being backed with only so much additional punch in execution leaves shortcomings to go brought more to attention, but when it's all said and done, it's the confidence in Dayton's and Faris' efforts that do as much as anything in making this film as compelling as it is, which isn't to say that Dayton and Faris are the only couple that carries this film. Sure, the supporting members of this film's surprisingly limited cast charm quite a bit when they arrive, but this is Paul Dano's and, as actress, Zoe Kazan's film, and they remind you through and through with individual charisma, broken up by effective and convincing moments of emotional range, as well as through chemistry that may admittedly be as strong as it is because Dano and Kazan are cheating by actually going through their fifth year as a couple in real life, but is strong, nonetheless, selling you on this film's human depths with charm and even a bit of near-engrossing dramatic range. I wish I could say that all of the strengths I just mentioned are as strong as I make them sound, as sure as I wish this film had a bit more bite to it, yet strengths still stand behind a final product that is still quite strong, cutting through its natural shortcomings just enough to charmingly entertain, emotionally engage and ultimately satisfy reasonably.

Overall, dodges out of conventions are limited in this film, though not as much as all that much meat in the first place, as the film, while compelling, boasts natural limitations that, when played up in execution, ignite the repetition and degree of aimlessness that leave the final product to boast only so much reward value, which, in all fairness, is still sharp enough to keep you going, going charged by the refreshing touches, charming wit and colorful characterization within Zoe Kazan's script, stylish touches, charisma and range within Jonathan Dayton's and Valerie Faris' storytelling, and charisma, range and chemistry between leads Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan, as actress, that make "Ruby Sparks" a rewardingly entertaining and refreshingly clever deconstruction of the male fantasy.

3/5 - Good.