Ruby Sparks is small scale offbeat romantic comedy from writer Zoe Kazan. However the concept never progresses much from its initial premise.

Calvin (Paul Dano) is a young writer who has been struggling with writer's block to follow his hit first novel that he wrote as a teenager.

His therapist sets Calvin an exercise to write something and Calvin manages to bring a fictional character Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan) from the page into real life existence.

Ruby turns out to be his dream woman, A quirky Pixie Dream Girl who Calvin can shape by his writing.

Kazan having written the screenplay has a good angle on playing Ruby. The trouble is Calvin is rather two dimensional, a bit of a selfish bore, a tepid wet blanket.

The film never aims to be more than an idiosyncratic fantasy rom com when it could had explored its ideas in a more twisted way.

Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) is struggling with writer's block. One day he finds romance by writing his female love interest Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan) into existence. As their relationship builds, he can't help but try to control her thru his writing. This leads a dark climax.

There is real chemistry between the two real-life couple. I liked the two actors, but I felt there wasn't enough tension in the story. It's a good watch, but not a breakout film that it could have been.

I had heard the title of this film a few times in the past, I had a feeling it was something that would have romance in it, other than that I didn't know anything about it, reading about it, it sounded good, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine). Basically, Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) is a young novelist who found incredible success with his first book but is struggling with writer's block. He is also lonely and struggles to find a relationship. To help he has been seeing a therapist, Dr. Rosenthal (Elliott Gould), who tasks him to write about someone who likes his dog, Scotty. One night, he dreams about a beautiful quirky young woman, and this dream inspires him to write about her. Calvin starts to write about this woman, who he names "Ruby Sparks", and he admits to Dr. Rosenthal that he is falling in love with this character. Calvin's brother Harry (Chris Messina) and sister-in-law Susie (Toni Trucks) come to visit, and they tease him finding women's clothing around the house, which confuses Calvin. Harry reads some of Calvin's new writing and criticises it, saying that his female character is overly idealised and unrealistic. Calvin writes a passage about Ruby falling in love with him, before falling asleep at his typewriter. The next day, he is stunned to find Ruby (Zoe Kazan, also writing, she is granddaughter of On the Waterfront director Elia Kazan) in his kitchen and is a real person. He calls Harry, who does not believe him and advises him to meet with someone to take his mind off things. Ruby is confused by Calvin's behaviour, and he leaves her to meet with Mabel (Alia Shawkat), a fan of his book who gave him her number. Ruby finds them and believes Calvin is cheating on her; Mabel and a waiter seeing her, and the ensuing confrontation proves she is not a figment of his imagination. Calvin finally acknowledges that Ruby is real, apologises for his behaviour, they embrace and spend time together. Calvin introduces Ruby to Harry, who is sceptical and suggests alternate explanations of what has happened, but Calvin proves him wrong, writing and directly affecting Ruby, making her briefly speak fluent French. Harry is amazed and says that Calvin could make Ruby do anything he wants. But Calvin asks Harry not to tell anyone of Ruby's origins, insisting that since he wrote her into existence, he truly knows her, and asserts he will never write about her again. Months later, Calvin reluctantly takes Ruby to meet his free-spirited mother Gertrude (Annette Bening) and her boyfriend Mort (Antonio Banderas). While the outgoing Ruby enjoys herself, a preoccupied Calvin grows jealous of her spending time with other people, and her happiness turns to increased gloominess. Returning home, Ruby is depressed as their relationship has become tense, she explains how lonely she feels, suggesting they spend less time together. Fearful of Ruby leaving him, Calvin writes that Ruby cannot live without him, this causes Ruby to become incredibly clingy. Calvin grows tired of this and writes that Ruby is constantly happy, but this only causes her to become childlike. After talking with Harry, Calvin tries to write Ruby back to her original self, but his wording leaves her confused. After fighting again, he tries to cheer her up by taking her to a party hosted by author Langdon Tharp (Steve Coogan). Calvin leaves Ruby and talks with others at the party about his unfinished work. He also runs into his ex-girlfriend Lila (Deborah Ann Woll), who accuses him of not being interested in anyone but himself. Langdon finds Ruby alone and flirts with her, convincing her to strip to her underwear and join him in the pool. Furious and humiliated, Calvin drives Ruby home. They argue, and Ruby tells Calvin that he cannot stop her from doing what she wants. As she prepares to leave, Calvin tells her the truth and reveals that she is a product of his imagination. Their growing argument leads to Calvin writing that she speaks French to prove that he can make her do anything he writes. He becomes crazed and forces her to perform increasingly frenzied and humiliating acts, including clicking her fingers repeatedly, stripping and singing, acting like a dog, making her quote everything she "loves", and repeatedly saying "you're a genius" over and over again until she collapses. When Calvin tries to approach Ruby, she feels confused and lost, having no control of her own self, and she locks herself in his room. Distraught and ashamed, Calvin writes a final page stating that as soon as Ruby leaves the house, she is no longer his creation, no longer subject to his will, and is free. He leaves the manuscript outside her door with a note telling her to read the last page and that he loves her. The next morning, Calvin finds that the note and Ruby are gone. Time passes, and Harry suggests Calvin should write a new book about his experiences with Ruby. His novel, The Girlfriend, is a success. Walking the dog in the park, Calvin sees a woman who appears to be Ruby but does not recognise him, reading his book. She says that Calvin seems familiar, but he deflects by showing her his author's photo on the book. She jokes that they should start over, urging him, "Don't tell me how it ends," to which he replies, "I promise." Also starring Aasif Mandvi as Cyrus Modi, and Wallace Langham as Warren. Dano gives a good performance as the frustrated novelist, and his real-life girlfriend Kazan is really likeable as his quirky fictional creation brought to life, it is a really clever idea that doesn't need explanation, you just go along with it. I agree there are the small moments that go a little far or don't fit, but overall, it is a sweet love story, with some laughs, and a great concept that you can only imagine for yourself, an interesting and worthwhile romantic fantasy comedy-drama. Good!