Ruby Sparks
‘Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him.‘ - Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx knew how to get a laugh; and when it comes to one-liners; the best are always true. But what would happen if the tables were turned? What would happen if men could control their own fate for a change?
To celebrate the release of Ruby Sparks on October 12 we take a look at the best on screen examples of men taking fate by the scruff of the neck, with mixed consequences; enjoy!
- Ruby Sparks - The literary lover
Calvin is a novelist struggling with writer's block who ends up finding romance in the most unusual place. Taking a piece of advice to heart, Calvin writes Ruby, a fictional character he thinks will love him.
What he does not expect however, is for her to come to life. Understandably shocked by her sudden appearance, Calvin begins to doubt his own sanity. Eventually Calvin sees that Ruby is there to stay and he begins to have fun, enjoying life with his literary creation.
Unfortunately for Calvin it is only a matter of time before Ruby becomes confused and unhappy, unaware of her origins. Calvin finds power harder to handle than he first thought and ends up facing some tough decisions. It turns out that controlling your own fate is not as much fun as one might think.
- Weird Science - A teenage dream
Gary and Wyatt share a dream, a dream to meet a woman they could understand; a woman who not only looks good but, more importantly, makes them look good too.
Imagine their delight then, when Lisa appears; the stunning result of an electric storm and Wyatt’s powerful computer, Lisa is the perfect woman. What the boys did not account for is that this ‘perfect woman’ would have plans of her own.
Lisa takes control and the boys go from local losers to local legends in just a few days! This is less a case of boys controlling the perfect woman and more a case of the perfect woman controlling them; but these are just boys; surely a grown man will know how to take control...
- Bruce Almighty - The divine comedy
Poor old Bruce; never catching a break, always the fall guy, it’s like God has it in for him. But when God tires of Bruce’s moaning and endows him with power from on high, life is not as rosy as Bruce once imagined.
Bruce takes no time in using his new found power to his own benefit, but eventually the responsibility of divine power comes back to bite him.
It turns out God does a little more with his powers than parting tomato soup and Bruce ends up losing the person he loves, not to mention inciting riots in the process.
Having learnt some valuable lessons, Bruce is eventually happy to hand his powers back to God. Maybe being God is a bit too much power for the average man.
- What Women Want - A man from Venus
Nick Marshall is the epitome of chauvinism. Nick lives his life as he pleases and treats women with little respect, so one would understand, if not sympathise, when his dream promotion is given to a woman.
Nick’s luck is in though, following a nasty incident involving pantyhose, make-up, a hair dryer and a bath full of water Nick is able to hear every woman’s thoughts. Seeing this as a curse to begin with Nick struggles to deal with this information overload, but it only takes a few days for Nick to start reaping the benefits.
Undermining his female colleagues and seducing women with ease, Nick is firmly in control. In the end though, fate has a sense of humour with Nick, as he ends up falling for his unlucky new colleague and wishing his power away.
Turns out love trumps power every time, good news for the male species if the above is anything to go by!
Ruby Sparks hits cinemas this Friday 12th October.
Tagged in Paul Dano