Review: 'Ruby Sparks', starring Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan

Leave it to Zoe Kazan to craft the best summer romance since (500) Days of Summer. The indie darling has been on the cusp of finding a larger audience for years, with supporting roles opposite Meryl Streep, Zac Efron, and Michelle Williams, but it's been in smaller budgeted films like The Exploding Girl where she's found her surest footing. With Ruby Sparks, she's proven to be a multi-hyphenate of rare ability: producing, starring, and penning a whimsical script that can best be described as Kaufman-esque.

Kazan's real life boyfriend, Paul Dano, plays struggling author Calvin Weir-Fields, who shot to prominence with his first book written as a youth. Now years later, he's yet to live up to his early promise, and is stonewalled not only by writer's block but his inability to think beyond his immediate concerns, such as his non-existent love life. Encouraged by his therapist(Elliott Gould) to write about his perfect girl as a means of coping with his relationship woes, Calvin pours every ounce of his imagination and creative force into cultivating this perfect dream woman; this woman no other could ever hope to live up to. Naming her Ruby Sparks(Kazan), Calvin can't stop writing about her, perfecting and honing her in his mind. Then one day, the line between fiction and reality is shattered when he wakes up to find her in his kitchen cooking breakfast. How lucky can a guy be, right? To have their dream girl magically appear out of thin air? Well...

After convincing himself he isn't totally cracked in the head, Calvin allows himself to fall in love with the woman who embodies everything he holds dear. She's smart, funny, beautiful, generous, and caring. But she's also strong and independent, two things which Calvin could use a healthy injection of. She's a perfect reflection of the man who created her, for good and certainly for ill.

Kazan's script is light and fanciful for the most part, especially in the early stages of Calvin and Ruby's impossible relationship. Calvin is happier than he's ever been with Ruby by his side, and it isn't long before they settle into the grooves of a regular relationship, which as everybody knows never quite goes by the script. As Ruby evolves into her own woman, Calvin is faced with a very different person than the one he envisioned: one who wants to go out with her friends; who has her own thoughts and feelings separate from his. The question is whether or not Calvin has the maturity to handle it, or if he'll wield the magic of his typewriter to keep things as he likes it.

The film eases from jovial and carefree into some darker territory as Kazan's master plan begins to unfold. Much like Charlie Kaufman's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, she cleverly uses the fantastical to explore the idea of love from a unique perspective. She hits upon some hard truths in her meta exploration without dwelling too long on them, such as the penchant of men to want to control their women, and suppress the individuality that makes them so special. Also, Kazan seems to be skewering the "manic pixie dream girl" stereotype that has infected so many indie romantic comedies, by creating Ruby as a well-rounded character who is more than just quirk and a vintage outfit. Her script is funny and sharp, and never falls into the indie trap of being too precious or sweet. The only real misstep comes in the wasting of Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas, who play Calvin's hippie mom and stepfather respectively. Through no fault of the actors, the subplot where they're first introduced to Ruby is a needless distraction that takes away from what works.

Dano and Kazan have worked together in the past, but it's likely due to their real life relationship that adds so much to their chemistry here. Both are always reliably strong, but Kazan has truly done herself a service in putting herself in the title role. This is the type of showy, complex character that should have people standing up and taking notice. Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, who last directed the family road trip comedy Little Miss Sunshine, mostly stay out of the way and allow the actors sufficient room to breathe life into their characters.

Playfulness, insight, and a pair of fantastic leads make Ruby Sparks the must-see date movie for the summer.