Ruby Sparks

There’s a reference in Ruby Sparks to Harvey, the lightweight 1950 comedy that centered on a friendship between James Stewart and a giant invisible rabbit.

Ultimately, however, there are more differences than similarities. For starters, the quirky comedy about a fledgling novelist whose female character magically comes to life replaces the rabbit with a woman. And their relationship is more than just friendly.

Such is the idea behind the latest effort from married filmmakers Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine), which injects some magic realism into its story of a struggling writer dealing with an early mid-life crisis.

The resulting offbeat character study yields some charming eccentricities but requires such an outrageous suspension of disbelief that all but the least cynical viewers might be left shaking their heads.

Calvin (Paul Dano) is dealing with writer’s block, trying to replicate the success of his debut novel. Around the same time, he dreams up a character named Ruby (Zoe Kazan), who mysteriously leaps out of his imagination and appears in the flesh one day in Calvin’s kitchen.

The two forge a romantic relationship in which Calvin is able to manipulate Ruby’s actions on the printed page, but soon he realizes that such an arrangement has just as many pitfalls as benefits.

Ruby Sparks features another winning performance by Dano (There Will Be Blood), who allows the audience to root for Calvin even though he’s not conventionally endearing.

Chris Messina, meanwhile, is terrific as Calvin’s brother whose curiosity about Ruby essentially makes him the spokesman for skeptical moviegoers. Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas offer some breezy comic relief as Calvin’s free-spirited parents.

Kazan, who is Dano’s real-life girlfriend and makes her screenwriting debut, has an ear for sharp dialogue yet has trouble expanding her story beyond its thin one-joke concept.

The film has some scattered amusing moments, as well as sweetness amid its absurdity, but is equally creepy and disturbing in a strange way. It needs some grounding in reality in order to provide more emotional resonance.

Individual enjoyment will depend largely on whether moviegoers buy into its premise, and more importantly its lack of sufficient explanation for the title character’s existence beyond all the vague symbolism and modest insight into the creative process.

Ruby Sparks the movie shows potential that Ruby Sparks the character can’t fulfill.

Rated R, 104 minutes.