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.

"Ruby in Paradise" is a beautiful, coming-of-age story about a young woman, Ruby Lee Gissing, escaping her stifling roots to become herself. Although the title character is played artfully by the gorgeous Ashley Judd -- in likely her first movie role, albeit one to be quite proud of -- the emphasis is not upon becoming "somebody," a la the next Madonna (whether Jesus' mother or the lurid, attention-hungry singer).It instead emphasizes following ones' instincts and being somewhat introspective about them, to grow into one's ideal, adult self. NOTE: This isn't an action movie!!! It uses an occasional voice-over narration (by Ms. Judd) while writing in her journal -- and oh, I see I've just lost the male half of the readers out there. But be patient with this beautiful movie, where we learn that one's bliss can be discovered in -- oh, I dunno, carrying water and chopping wood.Actor/director/writer Todd Field, who played Nick Nightingale in "Eyes Wide Shut," co-stars as Ruby Lee's noble love interest, one who helps her heal her idea of relationships implanted from youth.But not even his character is the answer for Ruby Lee: There's no external hero imposed upon her. The ultimate message is that we are responsible for ourselves. Writer/director Victor Nunez, who also wrote/directed "Ulee's Gold," did an amazing job showing a young woman growing into herself -- confronting age-old challenges of good v. evil along the way.The supporting cast is also stellar, and the music used, particularly the cuts by chanteuse Sam Phillips (whom I hear is the wife of T. Bone Burnett), is right on -- most especially "Trying to Hold on to the Earth." Now, when I hear the first few chords of that song, tears spring to my eyes, Pavlovian and unbidden -- not sure if it's the music, or the indelible connection to the movie's quiet, charming message of empowerment.This movie is highly recommended for any young person trying to find his/her way. For any woman of any age, it is a must see! The downside: It is NOT on DVD, except in Spanish. (We learned, however, that it is legal to make one copy of a VHS version, which can be readily found online. My beloved husband found someone with a VHS copy and got a DVD copy made for me.) Although this treasure of a movie occasionally pops up on-air – on an indie channel, usually – you can't count on that when you might need it most as a tonic to soothe the pressures of the world. So buy a copy for yourself.This movie should have a major re-release, and it would, if I were Queen of Hollywood.-- Figgy Jones

This is without a doubt the most boring movie I have ever seen. Ashley Judd does a really good acting job, but the script and directing are terrible. Were they trying to bore us to death? This movie plods on and on monotonously. There is no buildup, no climax; in fact there is no plot at all. By the time it was halfway through, I began to pray that it would end. But it didn't. It just kept going, one pointless scene followed by another equally pointless scene. Why I kept watching it, I do not know. Maybe, deep down, I thought that it would get more interesting towards the end. Maybe I was waiting for some kind of point or moral to be made. If so, I was waiting in vain, for there is no point to this movie.I don't expect every movie I watch to be filled with action and suspense. However, I do expect to find something interesting or engaging. Is that too much to hope for?No offense to you if you like this movie, but "Ruby in Paradise" is dull, boring, pointless, and mind-numbing. Anyone who views it in its entirety without going bonkers should get a T-shirt that says "I survived 'Ruby in Paradise'".

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.