The term Manic Pixie Dream Girl, coined in 2005 by AV Club film critic Nathan Rabin, refers to a female character whose bubbly sensibility, behaviors and attitudes push the young male lead toward a more rewarding understanding of life and love. It's a stock character, most commonly found in indie movies and Zooey Deschanel's entire career, that's less of a person and more of a screenwriting tool.

Upon seeing the trailer and reading the synopsis for "Ruby Sparks," one would be forgiven for expecting overwhelming amounts of MPDG-related quirkiness to be shoved down their throats. The fact that the film is directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the husband/wife duo that created the now indie-cliché bible, "Little Miss Sunshine," was more cause for concern.

However, I'm happy to say "Ruby Sparks" pleasantly surprised me, evolving the MPDG trope into something smarter and more clever than the marketing would have moviegoers believe.

The film follows Calvin (named assumably after the equally imaginative young boy from "Calvin and Hobbes"), a young novelist who is struggling to come up with the subject for his next novel. The fact that he has been anointed a genius after his debut book doesn't help matters. His search for a topic stops when he begins seeing a beautiful, charming girl named Ruby (Zoe Kazan, who also wrote the screenplay) in his dreams.

Thanks to power of his imagination and his typewriter, however, the girl of his dreams becomes the very real girl who lives in his apartment, much to the befuddlement of Calvin and his older brother/confidante (Chris Messina).

The first act of "Ruby Sparks" goes through the creation of Ruby, laying down some of the clichés of the MPDG. Calvin is brooding and uncomfortable with society, especially women (featured in a brief appearance with Alia Shawkat, most known as Maeby from "Arrested Development"). Ruby, when glimpsed in Calvin's dreams, is all quirky cutesiness.

It's trite but presented well. Paul Dano, the colorblind mute son from "Little Miss Sunshine," brings his usual strangely antic yet composed energy to the main role, and Kazan is charmingly effervescent without becoming draining. Elliott Gould also makes several pleasant and humorous early appearances as Calvin's psychologist and writing coach.

Dayton and Faris also tell the story without laying the whimsy and quirk on thick. For instance, a daydream recap of Ruby's life history hazily projected onto the psychologist's ceiling is delightful and clever without trying too hard. Ruby's gradual appearance into reality – her lingerie keeps randomly appearing in Calvin's apartment for no reason – is mysterious, intriguing and good for a few laughs.

As "Ruby Sparks" continues on, however, the story becomes far less standard. Ruby may start as Calvin's dream girl come to life, but he soon starts discovering that she wants a life of her own. Ruby wants to grow and evolve, whereas Calvin wants her to stay the way he made and pictured her. Unbeknownst to Ruby, since she's technically a figment of his imagination, Calvin also has the ability to make her behave the way he wants.

It's a clever play on the MPDG cliché. Screenwriters, such as Calvin, write these fictitious dream girls, but what would happen if they were real people, not just creations of their own hopes and desires? The story isn't just limited to the writing process. The wish for control in his dream relationship with Ruby becomes a statement on relationships in general. The person you start with might not be the same one in a year's time, like it or not, and changing them or hoping for the past will kill the romance faster than save it.

"Ruby Sparks" isn't perfect. A mid-movie trip to a jungle palace created by Calvin's parents (Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas) falls into the trap of forced indie quirk that it previously had ably avoided. Plus, the ending wraps up a bit too nicely, especially considering Calvin and Ruby's last, slightly terrifying moments together.

Much like a relationship, though, if you are able to overlook the minor flaws, you might find something smart and sweet to fall in love with.