NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

tdelamont This 1993 film by Victor Nunez, Starring Ashley Judd, is a slow-paced character study that takes its time going nowhere in particular, and does it beautifully. It tells the story of Ruby Lee Gissing, a young woman who packs up her old beater of a car one day and just drives out of her dead-end life in a rural Tennessee backwater in search of something, anything, better.This isn't the sort of film that builds up to a melodramatic moment where Ruby must decide whether to stay or go. In fact, the very first scene with her driving away with her old life (literally) in her rear-view mirror would have made a great final scene to another movie. Instead, we really don't know much of her backstory, other than she's finally, as she says later, "Made it out of Tennessee without getting beat up or pregnant."For no reason other than a pleasant memory of a vacation she had as a child, she lands in a seaside tourist town (Panama City Beach). Unfortunately, it is the off-season and it looks as if she may may have traded one future-less existence for another.Here the movie takes a subtle turn. She finds a job (not a great one, but it pays the bills). She starts keeping a journal. She makes friends. She makes missteps with relationships. She starts building a new life that isn't going to change the world but it is better than the one she left behind. It all unfolds by degrees that some will find dull but many will find true and familiar and poignant. By the end of the movie we realize that paradise can be what you make of it. And we know that Ruby will be just fine.This movie is currently posted on YouTube and has never been released in any other format other than VHS. See it while you can.

muggcharles I totally agree with the main points of those who have already reviewed Ruby in Paradise. After having spent time living in Florida, I would just like to add that this movie does a fantastic job in creating the mood and atmosphere of living in Florida. Businesses such as Chamber's Emporium are everywhere. The invasion of tourists from spring breakers to Canadian snowbirds is perfectly captured. The contrast between Ruby's two boyfriends made the movie more realistic. Ruby's first boyfriend was easily a mismatch considering he was more like the boyfriend that Ruby fled from at the beginning of the movie. The brainy boyfriend who looked down upon commercial businesses such as Chamber's Emporium captured a feeling that many students expressed during the Vietnam War Era of the 1960s. It was easily apparent that Ruby was well above that type of attitude. I especially enjoyed this movie because it did so vividly bring back memories of my time living in Florida. Of course my stay in Florida would have been much better if I could have spent time with Ashley Judd as her third boyfriend. Ha! Ha!

curtis martin ...and her only extraordinary acting job, too. I had high hopes for Judd when I saw this character study film ten years ago. In a movie that was about not much more than being able to read what was behind the main character's eyes, her performance was amazing. You could see everything on her face, in depth and detail. Should have garnered her an Oscar. But, this was a very, very subtle film, and until this year's "Lost in Translation," Oscar didn't really care for that kinda "European-y" thing. So, it's not for everyone, but this is a treat for those who love true film acting. Now Judd's just the girl that does all those lame thrillers and the occasional romantic comedy rejected by Julia Roberts.

samerain Ashley Judd in a career-making performance as a young woman trying to create a decent life for herself in a world full of lies, false values, empty commercialism, and ultimate boredom. The dialogue and editing are superb. One of the best American films of the 90s.