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Ruby Sparks

Play trailer Poster for Ruby Sparks R Released Jul 25, 2012 1h 44m Romance Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
79% Tomatometer 182 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Young author Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano), once a literary darling, is having trouble composing his next novel. Following a therapist's advice, Calvin pulls out an old manual typewriter and creates a vivacious, flame-haired woman he dubs Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan). Overnight, Ruby leaps from the page into Calvin's home as a real flesh-and-blood woman. And, what's more, she's unaware that she's actually a fictional character and that her actions and feelings are dictated by whatever Calvin writes.
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Ruby Sparks

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Critics Consensus

Cleverly written and wonderfully acted, Ruby Sparks overcomes its occasional lags in pace with an abundance of charm and wit.

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Critics Reviews

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Elizabeth Weitzman New York Daily News Sometimes it's worth surrendering to cinematic enchantments, and Ruby Sparks makes a pretty good case for its own magic. Rated: 3/5 Jan 8, 2013 Full Review Linda Barnard Toronto Star Sure it's been done before -- man brings ideal woman to life -- but not quite like Ruby Sparks. And that sets this film up to be a smart and romantic low-key comedy that goes beyond expectations. Rated: 3/4 Jan 8, 2013 Full Review Justin Chang Variety If the result feels like a Pinocchio story that spends too much time with Geppetto, or a takedown of narcissism that never breaks free of what it's critiquing, Dano nonetheless makes Calvin compelling company. Jan 8, 2013 Full Review Paul Emmanuel Enicola Movie-Blogger.com “Ruby Sparks,” in all its schmaltzy tenderness, is in reality a case study of the dangers of idealizing a person, and containing that person’s whole individuality based on one’s idea of perfection. Rated: 4/5 Jul 31, 2024 Full Review Michael Clark Epoch Times How empowered would you feel if you knew that whatever you wrote could immediately be physically realized? Would you tempt fate knowing that you could always go back and edit it, or would you try to try to stay true to your own inner core values? Rated: 4/5 Dec 10, 2022 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review The setup may be ancient in origin, but the treatment is sophisticated, beguiling, insightful, and brimming with charm. Rated: 4/4 Sep 20, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Faiz D A charming and fun film about love and magic. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/13/25 Full Review Malik abdullah M Nice watch to pass some time but wouldn't really remember it after a while like a lot of unanswered question for my interpretation of film made it fast paced for me Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/27/25 Full Review av 8 This movie is definitely an interesting watch. Ruby Sparks, borne out of Calvin's writing, is the woman of his dreams, or rather, of his writings, must I say? Calvin begins to think he has lost his last marble before he realizes that Ruby is real—that everybody can see her, feel her and interact with her. The story begins to take wild turns once Calvin stops writing about her. But what happens when Ruby evolves and ceases to be the fictitious woman that he so much adored? I couldn't point a finger of accusation at Ruby, though she has her blatant flaws—the ones that were written by a cold and manipulative Calvin, as well as others of her own. There were moments that made my blood curdle with repugnance. However, the amends towards the end relieved me of that pain. This is a frigid romance, much like the ones in real life, where we love the fantastical picture of a person we have painted in our heads rather than who they truly are. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/25/25 Full Review Sergio M en mi opinion, simplemente magnifica Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/09/24 Full Review Samara H amazing i loved it so much. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/29/23 Full Review Keegan P It was a great concept, and it seemed to be an overall good movie, but something about the ending threw it all away. He did not deserve a second chance with her and she, despite being a creation, deserved better. The ending was very predictable, but the vibe of the movie kept me hopeful that it would take that turn and end in a sad, but heartfelt lesson learned kind of way. I wanted him to lose her, all of her, and realize he can't just make a perfect girl and learn to be at peace with life's options. I wanted her to find herself and simply BE without her creator. Again, sad in the sense that he lost the one thing he loved, but lesson learned which ultimately gave it a somewhat happy ending. You can't just go all... sad and eerie power trip... to aww he gets the girl in the end. NO! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Ruby Sparks

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Cast & Crew

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Jonathan Dayton

Director

Valerie Faris

Director

Paul Dano

Calvin Weir-Fields

Zoe Kazan

Ruby Sparks

Antonio Banderas

Mort

Annette Bening

Gertrude

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Ruby Sparks

Paul Dano as Calvin and Zoe Kazan as Ruby in "Ruby Sparks." Paul Dano as Calvin in "Ruby Sparks." (L-R) Zoe Kazan as Ruby, Paul Dano as Calvin and Chris Messina as Harry in "Ruby Sparks." (L-R) Annette Bening as Gertrude and Zoe Kazan as Ruby in "Ruby Sparks." (L-R) Paul Dano as Calvin and Chris Messina as Harry in "Ruby Sparks." Paul Dano as Calvin in "Ruby Sparks." Zoe Kazan as Ruby and Paul Dano as Calvin in "Ruby Sparks." (L-R) Paul Dano as Calvin and Elliot Gould as Dr. Rosenthal in "Ruby Sparks." Zoe Kazan as Ruby and Paul Dano as Calvin in "Ruby Sparks." (L-R) Chris Messina as Harry, Paul Dano as Calvin and Zoe Kazan as Ruby in "Ruby Sparks." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Young author Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano), once a literary darling, is having trouble composing his next novel. Following a therapist's advice, Calvin pulls out an old manual typewriter and creates a vivacious, flame-haired woman he dubs Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan). Overnight, Ruby leaps from the page into Calvin's home as a real flesh-and-blood woman. And, what's more, she's unaware that she's actually a fictional character and that her actions and feelings are dictated by whatever Calvin writes.
Director
Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Producer
Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa
Screenwriter
Zoe Kazan
Distributor
Fox Searchlight
Production Co
Bona Fide Productions
Rating
R (Some Drug Use|Language|Some Sexual References)
Genre
Romance, Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 25, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.5M
Runtime
1h 44m
Sound Mix
Datasat, SDDS, Dolby Digital
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