Ruby Sparks

Yet another free-spirited young woman teaches another brooding young man some life lessons...

Having published a critically-acclaimed novel at the tender age of 19, Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) has spent the subsequent decade struggling with writers' block. When his therapist gives him an assignment to help him overcome his struggles, Calvin starts thinking about his idea of the perfect girl (Zoe Kazan) - only to be surprised when she suddenly turns up in his house one morning.

While this basic plot description may make it sound like a contemporary update on Weird Science, in truth Ruby Sparks is yet another of those navel-gazing indie flicks in which self-absorbed characters learn some important lessons about life and, you know, stuff. Zzzzz...

Ruby Sparks comes to Blu-ray with the kind of diffuse AVC 1.85:1 1080p encode that will be instantly familiar to anybody who has ever seen more than a couple of this type of indie comedy. Meanwhile, colours are generally kept pretty neutral, but look entirely authentic. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix is almost entirely focused on the front stereo spread, and does a perfectly reasonable job with the film's mumbled dialogue and identikit indie rom-com score.

Extras are limited to five extremely short, if self-explanatory, behind-the-scenes featurettes (The Story, The Cast, Real Life Couples, Be Careful What You Wish For and Los Angeles: The Other Character) and the theatrical trailer.

20th Century Fox, All-region BD, £23 Approx, On sale now
HCC Verdict: 2/5

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