Monday, September 17, 2012

‘Sparks’ flies, fizzles, sparkles

An uninspired author discovers that his dream girl has miraculously transformed into a real, flesh-and-blood human being in “Ruby Sparks,” co-directed by the filmmaking duo of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (“Little Miss Sunshine”).

The young renowned author Calvin (Paul Dano) wrestles with finding the next subject, but the only thing giving him inspiration is literally a girl from his dreams, a character he subsequently names “Ruby Sparks.”

Ruby (Zoe Kazan) is exactly how Calvin imagined her: quirky, flawed and complex. Convinced that this miracle is real, Calvin manages to have an actual, if imperfect relationship with her, succumbing to the temptation of making tweaks and alterations along the way.

Written by Kazan, “Ruby Sparks” is just as quirky as the titular character. The manifestation of the fictional being is an understandable fantasy, rife with potential for role-playing and god complex situations. The film manages to realize both, while entertaining with its more traditional rom-com traits.

There are sparks between Kazan and Dano that make them an effervescent onscreen couple, but the story gets a tad too predictable at times that the relationship isn’t one you particularly get invested in. Still, it reaches an acceptable, plausible resolution, tying up its inevitable complications quite sparklingly.

“Ruby Sparks” will be in Philippine cinemas starting Sept. 19.  

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