Went to a screening of Ruby Sparks last night at UCLA’s Hammer Museum. Part of the film was shot there in the Billy Wilder theater and the museum organized the screening and a following q&a with the directors and cast. It was a lovely event, I need to go to more of their screenings.

If you’re not familiar, Ruby Sparks is the second film by Little Miss Sunshine directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. While maybe not quite reaching the level of Little Miss Sunshine, Ruby Sparks is well worth seeing, especially if you’re looking for a break from the summer blockbusters and comic book movies currently topping the box office. Not that I don’t love those too.

Ruby Sparks is a love story, a romantic comedy that doesn’t always feel like a romantic comedy. It has a lot of moments that are sugar sweet and will make you laugh, but it also isn’t afraid to explore some of the darker moments of relationships, even good relationships. The cast is the highlight of this movie, with screenwriter Zoe Kazan playing Ruby Sparks, Paul Dano as Calvin, Chris Messina (brilliantly cast) as Calvin’s brother Harry, and appearances by Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Elliot Gould, Steve Coogan, and others. It’s really fun and the ending is satisfying, even if Calvin maybe gets off the hook a little easy.

Matthew Libatique’s cinematography is wonderful as always (he’s one of my favorites). There are some really great moments, I absolutely love how they shoot the scene at the Hammer for example. Ruby Sparks is shot entirely in LA, something I also love, and I think the filmmakers do a really great job showcasing the city.

As I keep saying, there are a lot of great smaller movies out this year. Safety Not Guaranteed, Moonrise Kingdom, Damsels in Distress, Here. Ruby Sparks is another welcome addition to that list. It opens in limited release this coming Wednesday and I encourage you to check it out.

Trailer!