Ashley Judd
The story of a resilient young woman of limited education and means who is out to find her place in the world, Ruby in Paradise is a rambling little film, but one offering definite rewards to those who stick with it. Chief among these is the focused, considered performance of Judd (Wynonna's sister and a regular on TV's Sisters) as the title character, a dreamy young woman whose biggest boast early on is that she left her hometown "without getting pregnant or beat up." During the course of the movie, her character, a clerk in a Florida beach-town souvenir shop, evolves into a responsible adult who makes deliberate choices about what she wants and what she will value in life. Also worth praising are Todd Field, as Judd's bright but laconic beau, and Dorothy Lyman, as her astringent boss. Director-screenwriter Victor Nunez continues to demonstrate that there are independent filmmakers with more on their minds than just trying to remake Mean Streets. (Not rated)
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