Writer: Peter Chai

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Watch this if you liked: “Little Miss Sunshine”

"Ruby Sparks" is a romantic comedy that brings you to the desperate world of genius novelist Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano). His early success during his teenage years in the writing industry has left Calvin uninspired to produce more brilliant work for almost ten years. Besides having to struggle with writing ideas, the young man is having difficulty in falling in love with someone in his isolated life. His life receives an enormous change when he types out his dream girl in his new fiction novel named Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan). Before he knows it, Ruby Sparks has come alive in the real world, and acts like she has known him for life. At first, Calvin tries his best to blind himself from believing in Ruby's existence in reality, but eventually he comes to accept the fact that she is "real" after undergoing several weird circumstances and experiments with his close friends and family and falls for Ruby. Calvin has the ability to make Ruby be or do anything he wants by typing it out, and as time goes by; this leads him to adopt a different outlook at life.

Once again, we are blessed to have a chance to appreciate another sincere and emotionally-gutting piece from filmmakers Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, after they took us on a wild and fun ride in California in "Little Miss Sunshine". But unlike their directorial debut, "Ruby Sparks" is more about a strange and out-of-the-world romantic relationship between two individuals with less emphasis on the power of unity in a family.

Seeing Paul Dano in the film reminds us of how far he has come since playing the unhappy and silent teenager named Dwayne in "Little Miss Sunshine". There are moments when you would think that Calvin is rehash of Dwayne by looking at their personalities and poor social life, except this time Dano portrays a confused but smart adult, who needs so much help psychologically from his brother Harry and psychiatrist to search for his calling in life under the pressure of being a genius and a lonely man.

The story about someone that you imagined actually appearing by your side in real life sounds really ridiculous and unbelievable, but Zoe Kazan, who wrote the story and played Ruby, has the magic to make us believe that it is possible to have such an experience with her stunning story, leading us to engage with the imaginative world of true love and emotions.

The reviewer can bet that no one can hold their laughter watching Calvin's various attempts to prove to his sibling that his fictional girl has come alive and is now his girlfriend.

There is an old saying, "You can't control your love in a relationship," and that is what "Ruby Sparks" is all about. This perspective is explored when Calvin tries to control Ruby's mood with his words. He starts to understand that the girl he created is not in control of herself, but just there to obey his wishes and live the way he wants. The film may not be a blockbuster, but it is definitely a movie to be admired by moviegoers who want to watch the magic of free-spirited love on the big screen.

Cinema Online, 01 October 2012