Sparks
Watched a non-horror movie tonight, Ruby Sparks from 2012. It's the kind of movie that tacks a happy end on a story which would be better served without it.
(There will be spoilers).
The basic premise is as follows: a best-selling writer with writer's block writes a girlfriend who becomes real. She's the Ruby in the title. What he writes about her becomes true; something he proceeds to abuse.
Pro: The concept is an interesting one. It could be said to be about fiction-writing as wish-fulfillment, or as an excuse for not being a decent person. Or maybe it's about the idea of the non-threatening dream girl as it collides with reality (and a Real Person), and the creepiness that follows.
Paul Dano is good as the soft-spoken yet controlling writer-boyfriend, and Zoe Kazan (who wrote, produced and probably moonlighted as second unit gaffer) pretty much personifies the artsy non-threatening dream girl.
Asif Mandvi and Antonio Banderas have some small but funny roles as Dano's agent and stepfather respectively.
Con: It's unsubtle as fuck. This movie doesn't just make its points, it drives them home with a short-handled sledge. If you missed something, Deborah Ann Woll drops by as Dano's ex, articulating what even the people slurping Pepsi in the back row has grasped: Our main character wants a girlfriend that does not in any way challenge or annoy him.
The greatest sin is the mealy-mouthed happy end though. After writerboy's darkest moment, a sea-changed comes upon him. He writes an apologetic book about the whole thing, complete with self-congratulatory post-script (on a pristine Apple laptop, as if it was the mean typewriter what done it).
Then, of course he meets Ruby, who doesn't remember anything. They have a genuine meet cute, and it seems that romance is in the air. Eugh.
If I had my druthers, they would properly acknowledge writerboy's seriously unpleasant and controlling nature. Instead it's just magic'd away.
This entry was originally posted at http://hafwit.dreamwidth.org/23939.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
(There will be spoilers).
The basic premise is as follows: a best-selling writer with writer's block writes a girlfriend who becomes real. She's the Ruby in the title. What he writes about her becomes true; something he proceeds to abuse.
Pro: The concept is an interesting one. It could be said to be about fiction-writing as wish-fulfillment, or as an excuse for not being a decent person. Or maybe it's about the idea of the non-threatening dream girl as it collides with reality (and a Real Person), and the creepiness that follows.
Paul Dano is good as the soft-spoken yet controlling writer-boyfriend, and Zoe Kazan (who wrote, produced and probably moonlighted as second unit gaffer) pretty much personifies the artsy non-threatening dream girl.
Asif Mandvi and Antonio Banderas have some small but funny roles as Dano's agent and stepfather respectively.
Con: It's unsubtle as fuck. This movie doesn't just make its points, it drives them home with a short-handled sledge. If you missed something, Deborah Ann Woll drops by as Dano's ex, articulating what even the people slurping Pepsi in the back row has grasped: Our main character wants a girlfriend that does not in any way challenge or annoy him.
The greatest sin is the mealy-mouthed happy end though. After writerboy's darkest moment, a sea-changed comes upon him. He writes an apologetic book about the whole thing, complete with self-congratulatory post-script (on a pristine Apple laptop, as if it was the mean typewriter what done it).
Then, of course he meets Ruby, who doesn't remember anything. They have a genuine meet cute, and it seems that romance is in the air. Eugh.
If I had my druthers, they would properly acknowledge writerboy's seriously unpleasant and controlling nature. Instead it's just magic'd away.
This entry was originally posted at http://hafwit.dreamwidth.org/23939.html. Please comment there using OpenID.