Ruby in Paradise is a 1993 film written and directed by Victor Nunez, starring Ashley Judd, Todd Field, Bentley Mitchum, Allison Dean, and Dorothy Lyman.

An homage to Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen,[4] the film is a character study about a young woman who escapes her small town in Tennessee for a new life in coastal Florida.

Ruby's introspective narration is interspersed with routine scenes at the souvenir store, and conversations with her friend Rochelle or the men she dates, Ricky and Mike.

[10] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 86% from 28 reviews with the consensus: "Led by a magnetic performance from Ashley Judd, the gently subdued Ruby in Paradise perceptively captures one woman's journey of self-discovery.

[12] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 4 stars out of 4, and wrote: "Ruby in Paradise is a wonderful, life-affirming movie about a young woman who has that kind of luck.

[14] Variety wrote: "Victor Nunez has returned with a film of gentle, intelligent qualities, vividly portraying a young woman's inner life.

"[15] Steve Persall of the Tampa Bay Times said, "You can tell [Nuñez] loves his home state, not from any postcard vistas—there are none in Ruby in Paradise—but from tell-tale glances at how Floridians relate to newcomers, tourists and an evolving class structure.