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-

Happythankyoumoreplease

Josh Radnor makes his directorial debut in Happythankyoumoreplease which he also wrote and starred in. Radnor takes some of the lessons he learned on his hit TV show How I Met Your Mother and applied it to his movie. The outcome is a pleasant story amongst like minded people moving towards adulthood.

While this is a cute story, there is a lot wrong with this movie. First off that title, oh god that awful, awful title. And you know that title is gonna come with an indie hipster feel, including the soundtrack. Second the soundtrack, maybe it was bothersome because you knew the second he pulled out his man purse there was going to be a whole lot of acoustic guitars and whiney male vocals. More likely because the song just kind of seemed to be slapped into any old moment. I know this is a movie and things are supposed to be fictionalized but if anyone could fill me in on how struggling writers and wanna be artists can afford a one bedroom, one kitchen apartment in New York City please let me know. And finally that title, I know I mentioned it already but seriously whatiswrongwithusingspaces?

That being said the movie also do some things right to make this indie romantic comedy enjoyable for the audience. The movie has a Woody Allen feel to it, without the breaking of the fourth wall and more believable dialogue. Radnor wrote a script that could be casually heard on the streets, including the snappy retorts. The only time the dialogue seemed less believable was when the characters would go on heartfelt monologues, but every rom-com needs that cliché in order to help the protagonist.

While Radnor may star in this one, like a typical TV episode, he chose to separate the movie into three separate story lines all with a different romantic twists. Radnor takes the male lead and is counterbalanced with rising star Kate Mara. Radnor plays Sam, an aspiring novelist, who finds a small black child on a subway and decides to take him home. Just as I assume most hipsters in Williamsburg do so they can tell people they have a black friend. While this orphaned child is sleeping unsupervised on his couch he goes to the bar to hit on Mara who plays aspiring singer Mississippi. There is not too much friction between the two actors, which translates to little chemistry but they are both charming enough that it works. Mara is multi-talented and I doubt this is the last time she will be taking a lead role.

Sam's friend Annie, played by Malin Akerman suffers from alopecia so her character is bald, but Akerman's beauty glows through her bald cap and decorative scarves she wears. Radnor definitely could've taken this story a different way, but really the only thing her disease leads to is poor judgment in men. That is until she meets Sam #2, played by Tony Hale. While their story is not well developed both of their characters shine. Their little moments between each other and Sam #1 all seem genuine. The only downside is they are forced to be the moral compass for the story, so deliver all of the previously mentioned monologues. And while Hale delivers his wonderfully, Akerman probably lays it on a little too thick; despite this one flaw both characters are wonderful.

The third story line features Sam's cousin and friend who are at a fork in the road. Do they stay in New York or move to the west coast. Fortunately you won’t care that much as this is clearly the C storyline, the characters are not developed and there is very little audience investment in the story. It seems to be just thrown in to add more to the running time.

The movie doesn't have the glossed over touch that a big budget romantic comedy might but it works for the story as it is all about struggling artists. They also tend to reuse a lot of the same camera shots, including one too many close-ups but it is easy to get past.

Despite all of the trite moments contained in this little indie film, it has much more heart than any of the big budget flicks in the same genre. It takes an honest look at this weird new age group between post collegiate life and adulthood and what steps need to be taken to get to 30. While I hate the title, it seems to fit the film as the final frames leave you wanting more. C+