Ruby Sparks

I don't think at this point it is that hard to believe that Little Miss Sunshine came out six years ago.  That was the last time we heard from the married directing duo of Valerie Farris and Jonathan Dayton.  They once again try to capture lightning in a bottle with a darling little indie to entertain the  masses.  I doubt this will have the commercial success of their first film but it will be a good movie for couples to go see.  Ruby Sparks is the second feature film for Farris and Dayton and despite a glaring lack of explanation it is a cute movie to go see.

Written by the movies female lead, Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks is the story of a young writer, Calvin, who peaked as a teenager writing a modern American classic.  But now 10 years later has yet to put anything else out.  Calvin is played by Paul Dano who previously worked with Farris and Dayton on Little Miss Sunshine.  It seems appropriate that the directing team featured a story on a person with writer's block, since it has been six years since they have done anything.  So once again they have teamed up with FOX Searchlight hoping for similar success to their first movie.

But where Little Miss Sunshine focused on an eccentric family of loveable losers, this movie mostly focuses on one young couple in love.  While that is not a bad thing, there was just more to grab onto in their first movie. If you didn't particularly enjoy one story line you wouldn't have to wait long for another and the family motif really helped tie it all together. It also featured a lot of big names to draw the viewer in.  Including the extremely lucky casting of Steve Carrel who while filming was still not widely known because "The Office" had not aired yet.

I had a chance to talk to the stars and directors of the Ruby Sparks.  Click here to listen to what they had to say about getting this project started, how they have dealt with the success of Little Miss Sunshine and where they go next.

In this movie Calvin's dream girl is actually from his own mind as she is the female lead in his newest novel and has now magically come to life.  There is no explanation why and any attempt to do so, is quickly side stepped.  Even Ted manufactured a way for a teddy bear to come to life, the best explanation we got was possibly a magic typewriter, but you can never quite be sure.  Anyway Calvin believes he has created the perfect woman and for his hipster little self they seem to blend perfectly together.  But having only ever been in one real relationship he doesn't quite understand that any relationship needs work, even one with the perfect girl.  The theme here is fantastic and I think some of the highlights of the movie may be when Calvin uses his magic typewriter to change the girl to fit his needs.  While they used the themes to bring out some of the funnier moments in the movie, the main use of the alterations was an ethical look at the amount of control one person may have over another.  Kazan is at her best jumping from extreme to extreme and Dano also rises to the occasion when dealing with the alterations to his creation.

Kazan and Dano both did fine jobs with the lighter moments of the movie, but Dano's performance stayed consistently solid as the movie progressed well past the climax of the movie.  There was a host of fantastic supporting actors surrounding the two young stars which helped the story progress with an especially wonderful performances from Antonio Banderas as the eccentric boyfriend to Calvin's mom who was also played wonderfully by Annette Bening.  Steve Coogan also did amazing work in several scenes as the sleezy book executive looking to capitalize on Calvin's success.

Do we ever find out how a fictional character that appeared out of no where has her own place in Los Angeles?  No.  But I imagine Kazan is hoping that you will fall in love with the story so much that you will be able to look past these plot holes.  There is a wonderful story in here about what it takes to be in a relationship once the honeymoon bliss wears off and Ruby Sparks should be the perfect alternative to the major blockbusters that are out there now.  B-

2011 Oscars: Actress

One would think that the lead actress role would be locked up by now, but some people in the industry are seeing a late surge that could change some voters’ minds late in the game. Before that let’s look at the supporting actress category.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"
Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"
Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"
Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom"

First let’s get a couple of these out of the way. The King's Speech is as patriarchal as you can get. This movie is all about the men, and while The Queen Mum has an important place in history, she had little or nothing to do in this film, so she's out. Not everyone takes their role of Academy voter as seriously as Sir Elton John so if there is a movie people are going to sit out it will probably be the Australian import Animal Kingdom. If you haven't had a chance this movie is definitely worth a spot on your Netflix queue. Then it comes down to two movies The Fighter and True Grit. Melissa Leo did fantastic in the movie and I thought her performance would go unnoticed behind that of Christian Bale but boy was I proven wrong with that. Melissa Leo has already won Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe gold for her performance as the selfish mother. She has been acting since the eighties and has paid her dues. But then comes along this little 14-year old girl to muck the whole thing up. Hailee Steinfeld not only held her own in True Grit but at times outshines two past Academy winners. One could argue that she isn't really a supporting actress but rather the lead with Jeff Bridges. I doubt she had much say in the whole thing as this is only her FIRST MOVIE (I think at 14 I was growing a mullet). Compound the fact that Melissa Leo took out ads for herself just as people were starting to talk about the kid. Put the performances next to each other and I think Hailee Steinfeld did more to help Jeff Bridges grow as a character than Melissa Leo did for Wahlberg. All the big blogs out there go with an upset pick. So I'm going with Hailee Steinfeld to upset the veteran actress.

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"
Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"

This was supposed to be a lock, no one has been hotter than Natalie Portman and frankly that helps. Usually the Academy will deal out Oscar to the next big PYT (read: Hallie Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Charlize Theron). Natalie Portman has been steaming up the scene ever since The Professional (that's a joke people). She has gone from child actress, to blockbuster starlet, to indie queen and this Sunday she seems poised to grab the statuette. And rightfully so, the performance is frightening and the movie will stay with you long after you have left the theater. But recently there has been an upswing in support for Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right. Now I personally thought that Julianne Moore had the better performance in this movie, but this time Bening won't be competing against her co star because Moore was not nominated. While the Academy tends to not support comedy movies they do love gay movies, as one Hollywood observer noted "If you play gay or retarded you get an Oscar. I'd take in the ass for an Oscar." The now four-time nominated actress will eventually win the award, but this is not her night. Portman's performance is too captivating to go unrewarded plus Oscar also loves to break up marriages (read Hallie Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock). The recently engaged and knocked up Portman may walk away a winner Sunday, but the tabloids will make sure to bring her back down within a couple of years.

Tomorrow we'll look at the men. Who do you think will win for Best Actor (hint: it rhymes with Colin Mirth). What about this category, do you smell upset? Let me know what you think.