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Ruby Sparks

Play trailer Poster for Ruby Sparks R 2012 1h 44m Romance Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
79% Tomatometer 183 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 Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson With its recipe of unspoken magic, flawed relationships, and ideals on finding inspiration and perfection and daring to keep them, Ruby Sparks is a wholly different, unique, challenging, and satisfying romantic comedy experience. Rated: 4/5 Jul 28, 2025 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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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alan g Updated Pygmalion with a modern twist. Well acted except for Banderas who plays his usual macho self badly. Husband wife team actors/authors do very well. Cute couple. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/12/25 Full Review Catherine G It was so good, that I thought it was adapted from a Best Seller Novel! Loved it! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/18/25 Full Review Kalissa H Quite good. The type writing scene near the end was sinister. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/12/25 Full Review Joshwa W. This has wormed its way into my head in the best way possible. Zoe Kazan’s writing is pitch perfect, and Paul Dano, as always, does his absolute most to bring an honesty to his role that borders on terrifying. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/12/25 Full Review Su L Thought provoking, tense, and charming. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/11/25 Full Review Dave D I've seen Ruby Sparks at least a dozen times, and it gets better with each viewing. Beautifully acted and directed. Not a single sour note. And for the record, I'm not a fan of rom-coms. Ruby Sparks is only a rom-coms on the surface. Underneath it's a meditation on male toxicity, narcissism, loneliness, and the perils of idealizations. Simply brilliant. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/10/25 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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