TPC FINALLY MEETS MS. RUBY SPARKS. BUT WAS IT JUST AN ILLUSION?

RUBY SPARKS. Out of his mind and into his heart.

       There is a scene in Woody Allen's 1985 film, THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, where a man (Jeff Daniels) walks off a movie screen and begins a romance with a woman in the audience, played by Mia Farrow. And that is pretty much the plot device used in the deservedly-praised RUBY SPARKS, an effort the famed director might envy. 
        In this rom-com, with a bit of sci-fi grafted on, a struggling young writer named Calvin, trying to duplicate an earlier commercial success, types in a female character onto the printed page and while taking a walk, she appears before him. He soon learns that by typing in a few more words, he can make her do pretty much do whatever he desires. She soon comes to live with him and the only person in whom he confides is his brother, who seems to be some sort of successful  sports agent. The point is, the writer after making Ruby perform a few stunts, takes that adage, "if you love something, set it free" to heart and he does. The result is a sort of satisfying ending, and yes, you could say happy.
          There are zany episodes in this movie that break up the more poignant moments. The young writer takes Ruby to meet his wacky mom and her boy toy in Big Sur. They are played by Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas. (This tops the previous crazy parent combo of Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman in MEET THE FOCKERS.) There are droll exchanges between Calvin and the former Mr. Streisand, Elliott Gould, who plays Calvin's shrink therapist. And his brother's nuclear family shows up often to provide a few laughs and advance the plot. Still, above all, this is a love story with a part that Kate Hudson would have killed for.

Ruby, a dog named Scotty, and Calvin in RUBY SPARKS.

           RUBY SPARKS has a back story that TPC needs to explain now that it's out on DVD. First, Ruby is played by Zoe Kazan, who also wrote and produced the film. And if you want pedigree she is the daughter of a fantastic screenwriter, Nicholas Kazan, who wrote and received an Oscar nomination for a personal TPC favorite, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE. Her grandfather was the 1950s icon, Elia Kazan, who directed, among other legendary films, STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and ON THE WATERFRONT. One more thing. Ms. Kazan is in a five-year passionate romantic physical relationship with Paul Dano, who plays Calvin and that is just one of the reasons Channing Tatum's name was crossed out early. Oh, and did TPC mention that Zoe Kazan went to Yale and that she is a direct descendant of one of the founders of the university back in the 18th Century? (Now that's what TPC calls a real legacy admission!)

             The projectionist and the popcorn lady saw RUBY SPARKS last night at friend Connie's house and about ten others on a 55-inch Blu-ray with surround sound.


        The answer to yesterday's trivia question is JUNIOR. Today, 1954's ON THE WATERFRONT was nominated for twelve Academy Awards. How many did it win?