Film Addict's November Film Choice

It's that time of the month again and this month, once again, someone else has picked this month's choice; this time, it is the woman that brought me into this world, my mother, and she has chosen Ruby Sparks for the Film Addict's November Film Choice as we have watched it recently together and she thoroughly enjoyed it.  Originally, I was going to ask her to pick one for April seen as it was her birthday but she couldn't decide in time so the offer was postponed until she chose one.

Ruby Sparks is a 2012 romantic-comedy drama film directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris who have previously directed Little Miss Sunshine which also stars Paul Dano from Ruby Sparks.  Some of the stars are Paul Dano (Looper, Prisoners), Zoe Kazan (What If, ), Annette Bening (The Kids are Alright, American Beauty), Antonio Banderas (The Legend of Zorro, Once Upon a Time in Mexico), Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Philomena), Elliott Gould (Ocean's Trilogy, Friends), and Chris Messina (The Mindy Project, Julie & Julia).  Kazan also wrote the screenplay for Ruby Sparks.

As I like to mention whenever I do a request for the Film Addict's Film Choice, there is an extra point I talk about as chosen by the requester and that could be a character, part of the film, or something they liked and this time it is part of the film.

Rating: 7

Recommended To: Anyone

Favourite Characters: Harry

Favourite Part: Calvin: It's like...it's like I'm falling in love with her.
Dr Rosenthal: That's wonderful.
Calvin: No, it's not.  I can't fall in love with a girl I write.
Dr Rosenthal: Why not?
Calvin: Because she's not real.
Dr Rosenthal: Isn't she?
Calvin: No.
Dr Rosenthal: Are you sure?
Calvin: Yes.  She's some motherfucking product of my imagination.

Good Points: Interesting concept; well cast

Bad Points: Wraps up too easily; no logic to Ruby's existence

Special: When Calvin proves to Harry that he made Ruby up by typing that Ruby starts to speak French and she does

Calvin Weir-Fields (Dano) is a young novelist who had a bestselling novel when he was in school ten years ago but has failed to repeat this even since as he feels none of his ideas are good enough.  Calvin struggles in relationships as well because he feels most girls are only after the idolised version of him, not the real Calvin and combined with his introvert personality, Calvin is unlucky in love.  While speaking to his therapist, Dr Rosenthal (Gould), he discusses how he's struggling to write still so Rosenthal gives him a writing assignment, a page on someone meeting Calvin's dog and Calvin striking up a conversation with said person.  Later on, inspired by a dream he has of a girl called Ruby Sparks (Kazan), Calvin begins to write again and keeps going as he is completely infatuated with his imaginary character.  As he continues to write, Calvin starts to find pieces of women's clothing as well as women's bath products in his house which confuses him and worries his brother, Harry (Messina), and Harry's wife, Susie (Toni Trucks, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day), slightly.  After Harry and Susie leave, Calvin goes back to writing about Ruby at his typewriter but falls asleep part way through writing about how Calvin isn't the normal kind of guy Ruby goes for; when Calvin wakes up and goes downstairs, he finds Ruby, come to life, cooking in his kitchen.  Obviously, Calvin freaks out, thinking he's losing his mind and his behaviour confuses Ruby.  However, events eventually prove that Ruby is in fact real and not a figment of Calvin's imagination and a relationship flourishes between them, going on dates and introducing Ruby to Calvin's family including his mum (Bening) and her husband, Mort (Bandares).  No longer just a character he is writing, Calvin struggles with Ruby becoming real as she is not what he imagines, no longer the fantasy he wrote as she has her own thoughts and feelings, leading him down a dark path.

Ruby Sparks is an interesting concept; a guy dreams up his dream girl and writes about her on his typewriter which inadvertently brings her to life and it's something I enjoyed about this film because even though it gets dark towards the end, it's a fun film as it is a complete fantasy.  As Harry says to Calvin, "[he's] not written a person" as she is a fantasy because he controls her thoughts and feeling while she is fictional; on paper she could be the perfect girl, but once she's real, she becomes a real person with thoughts and feelings, showing Calvin that fantasies are not all they're cracked up to be.  Anyone could be your ideal mate but you need to accept them for who they are, that is what Ruby Sparks says to me which is why I love this film.

I personally think all of the cast members were well suited for their roles, some I know from other work which I have enjoyed so that's always good to know, and I can't imagine anyone else in these roles.  The leads were wonderful as they fit together with great chemistry (though I wouldn't expect anything different as Calvin and Ruby are actually an item) and they seem to embody the roles perfectly; I can only assume that Zoe Kazan had herself and Paul Dano in mind when she wrote the screenplay.  I loved the quirky supporting cast, especially Mum and Mort, as they bring a different, light-hearted aspect to the film and Calvin's part as they have this eccentric quality about them which makes the film for me because I love Antonio Banderas, especially when he's being a little odd (chasing Calvin around with a chair for example).

Even though he has the best intentions as he is only trying to help his kid brother out, Harry's advice is ill-advised as he suggests Calvin should change Ruby to suit his own desires even though she's a living human being now.  Despite this, Harry was my favourite character because he acted as Calvin's confidante as he seemed to be the only one Calvin trusted as the latter thought he was losing his mind and supports him even though he is really worried and that's why I liked him.  He's a flawed individual, with his bad advice and his nearly letting Calvin's secret slip when he's drunk and high, which made him real for me as the flaws also make a character three dimensional along with their strengths.

Unfortunately, I found Ruby Sparks to wrap up for too easily after Ruby discovers the truth about her existence and makes the ending feel anti-climactic because the plot becomes quite intense towards the end.  I don't know what I was expecting but I almost feel let down by the ending as it felt like they were implying it was a vivid dream that Calvin had which is a shame.

I have one major bugbear with this film other than it wrapped up too easily and that is Ruby coming into existence just makes no logical sense.  It happens and within minutes, it is accepted; no one enquires how it happened or questions it at all, especially Ruby or Calvin.  It just annoyed me that he have to accept it without any explanation, I think they should have dwelled on it a little just so it made a bit more sense.

Calvin: It's like...it's like I'm falling in love with her.
Dr Rosenthal: That's wonderful.
Calvin: No, it's not.  I can't fall in love with a girl I write.
Dr Rosenthal: Why not?
Calvin: Because she's not real.
Dr Rosenthal: Isn't she?
Calvin: No.
Dr Rosenthal: Are you sure?
Calvin: Yes.  She's some motherfucking product of my imagination!

I adore this part because I completely understand Calvin's frustration as he falls in love with a product of his imagination because there is many a character I think I'm in love with and wish were real; I am aware they're not, I'm not completely delusional and I am probably not really in love with them but it would be nice and they have a little piece of my tiny heart/black hole.  This part makes me laugh every time because of Calvin's random outburst of swearing as it seems a bit out of character for Calvin but that makes him real for me in my mind as he loses himself a bit; part of me wonders if it was improvised in some way which would make sense as Dano embodies the character perfectly.

As with other Film Addict's Film Choices that have been selected by someone else, the honouree picks something they like about the film and for my mum, it was the part where Calvin makes Ruby speak French to prove to Harry that he did in fact make Ruby up.  She finds this part hysterical as it is just so casual that Ruby is speaking French and doesn't even notice and is just completely random in her opinion and I have to agree.  It's so odd yet beautifully executed that it sticks in my mind so well and on this part alone, I am glad my mum picked this film.

Ruby Sparks is a wonderful film with an interesting concept and is well cast in opinion (though it saddens me that Antonio Banderas is playing a father now); Ruby Sparks is now a go-to-film for my mother and I as it a lovely film.  While I would have enjoyed it even more if it hadn't wrapped up so easily and they could have dwelled on how Ruby came to be just a little because these points just niggled me a bit over the course of the film but overall, the Ruby Sparks is a heartwarming film with a quirky cast that I think everyone should see just for something different.