RUBY SPARKS
An entertaining romantic fantasy for discerning adults.
Should You Watch It?
Ruby Sparks offers an imaginative premise and an entertaining, funny exploration of falling in love. Its morally positive conclusion argues that you cannot love a false idea of someone. You must love the person as he or she truly is.
That insight is valuable, but the movie surrounds it with magical thinking, a strong Romantic worldview, excessively strong foul language, drug references, and implied sexual behavior. The positive ending does not erase those concerns.
If you are an adult or older teenager who can thoughtfully engage those issues, the film has enough wit and moral substance to merit a viewing. For children and young teens, choose something else. The practical answer: watch it only if you are a discerning adult or older teenager.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESCalvin Weir-Fields is a novelist suffering from writer’s block. Then he begins dreaming about a quirky, lovely girl named Ruby and writes a novel about her.
Soon, Ruby’s things begin appearing around Calvin’s house—and then Ruby herself appears. Calvin asks his brother to verify that she is real. As Calvin and Ruby’s relationship grows, Calvin discovers that he can change her behavior and dialogue by typing words on a page.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means Ruby Sparks is a solid, appealing film with notable flaws. Its central idea is interesting, and the story is entertaining, funny, quirky, and relatable in its description of falling in love.
The movie resembles the Greek myth of Pygmalion, giving its romantic fantasy a thoughtful foundation. However, the plot sometimes lacks conflict and contains some plot holes. Editing fades to black a couple of times, creating choppiness in the story. The morally positive conclusion gives the film real value, even though the execution is uneven.
The Worldview
Ruby Sparks presents a strong Romantic worldview, mixed with magical thinking. It treats the creation of an ideal romantic partner as a fantasy framework, while also showing the danger of trying to control another person. The film includes some magical pagan thinking and New Age pagan hippie elements connected to Calvin’s hippie mother.
Its strongest moral insight is that people cannot base relationships on a false idea of love. Calvin must stop trying to make Ruby fit his wishes and allow her to have her own thoughts, wants, and actions. The film also suggests that people should be loved for who they truly are rather than for what they could become.
The movie’s romantic framework and magical premise distort a biblical understanding of love, but its conclusion points toward humility and self-denial. Biblical love “does not insist on its own way” (1 Corinthians 13:5).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Romantic worldview mitigated by some moral elements about loving a person for who they are than for what they could be, with some magical pagan thinking and New Age pagan hippie elements regarding protagonist’s hippie mother, plus a homosexual joke is made about a male dog that urinates like a female dog; at least 33 obscenities and six profanities, including one referring to Jesus, plus other crude dialogue and a few references to urinating; couple watches black and white zombie movie with blood and violence; implied couple living together, implied fornication, kissing, and homosexual joke about dog not acting his gender; upper male nudity and girl in underwear; alcohol use and man appears intoxicated or high on marijuana, or both; marijuana use and a joke about cocaine, a reference to getting “stoned,” and man appears high on marijuana or intoxicated, or both; and, lying.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film suggests that love means accepting a person as he or she truly is. How is that different from loving an imagined version of someone?
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 · Philippians 2:3–4Calvin tries to control Ruby’s behavior. When does caring for someone become an attempt to control that person?
1 Corinthians 13:5 · Galatians 5:13What does the film’s magical premise suggest about human desires and limitations? How should Christians respond when a story treats magic as a solution?
Deuteronomy 18:10–12 · James 1:5The film includes lying and other unhealthy choices. Why does truth matter in a relationship?
Ephesians 4:25 · Proverbs 12:22The Final Word
Ruby Sparks is entertaining, funny, and morally thoughtful about loving people as they truly are. But strong language, drug references, sexual content, nudity, and magical thinking make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults and older teenagers, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. Families looking for something safer can start here:.
