Ruby Sparks is a 2012 American romantic fantasy comedy-drama film written by Zoe Kazan and directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton.

It stars Paul Dano as an anxious novelist whose fictional character, Ruby Sparks, played by Kazan, comes to life, and his struggles to reconcile his idealized vision of her with her increasing independence.

Calvin Weir-Fields is a novelist who found incredible success at an early age, but struggles to form relationships and to write his next book.

After a dream in which he meets a woman, Calvin is inspired to write about her, admitting that he is falling in love with his character, "Ruby Sparks".

While the outgoing Ruby enjoys herself, the introverted Calvin grows jealous of her time with other people, and her happiness fades with his increased gloominess.

Kazan was initially inspired by a discarded mannequin and the myth of Pygmalion, quickly writing twenty pages, before putting the script aside for six months.

[4] During the writing, Kazan thought of Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo and Groundhog Day, wanting to present a slanted version of our own reality.

On the feminist aspects of the story, Kazan explains she wanted to explore the idea of "being gazed at but never seen", where a woman is not properly understood but in a way that wasn't unkind or alienating for men.

The website's critical consensus states "Cleverly written and wonderfully acted, Ruby Sparks overcomes its occasional lags in pace with an abundance of charm and wit".

[10] Stephen Holden from The New York Times wrote, "Ruby Sparks doesn't try to pretend to be more than it is: a sleek, beautifully written and acted romantic comedy that glides down to earth in a gently satisfying soft landing.

"[2] Online film critic Chris Pandolfi from At A Theater Near You called it "an intelligent commentary on the creative process, insecurity, controlling behavior, idealism, and the fragility of the male ego.

It's all rather ingeniously combined into one of the most likeable films I've seen all year – a fantasy, a character study, and a cautionary tale all rolled into one.