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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 Jan 8, 2013
3/5
Sometimes it's worth surrendering to cinematic enchantments, and Ruby Sparks makes a pretty good case for its own magic. Go to Full Review Linda Barnard Toronto Star Jan 8, 2013
3/4
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. Go to Full Review Justin Chang Variety Jan 8, 2013
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. Go to Full Review Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson Jul 28, 2025
4/5
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. Go to Full Review Paul Emmanuel Enicola Movie-Blogger.com Jul 31, 2024
4/5
“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. Go to Full Review Michael Clark Epoch Times Dec 10, 2022
4/5
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? Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Bunny B @RT85681708 Sep 18, 2026 Fantastic premise, but not fully developed, and thus unsatisfying. The "edits" Calvin writes for Ruby are too erratic all the way to the end when he finally "releases" her, and Calvin’s character isn’t guided by them through any visible change or growth into a person who deserves Ruby. A better ending would have been him seeing her happy somewhere (maybe an art exhibit?) and walking away, letting her have her own life untainted by his knowledge of where she came from. See more Thomas H @ThomasH Jun 12, 2026 Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan's real life chemistry perfectly shows up on film as you can feel the love between them and that makes the drama of the movie all the more real. Amazing. See more John C @johnhealty Dec 20, 2025 The message of the movie was really Good! The Actors pulled me as if I was there. I just don't like when it ends, there is no explanation of this "weird power" or if it's just a metaphor and what-not. So after watching this, I was really confused on the "plot-holes". I wish there is more to the movie to explain things. See more Noel L @RT15930389 Nov 12, 2025 Just goes to show you that there is no such thing as a perfect partner, even if you make them from scratch. The story was incredible and even sick at times See more alan g @agenser Oct 12, 2025 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. See more Catherine G @RT00159860 Sep 18, 2025 It was so good, that I thought it was adapted from a Best Seller Novel! Loved it! See more 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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