Garden State
 | Starring: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Amy Ferguson, Jill Flint, Gary Gilbert 20th Century Fox, 2004, DVD Customer Rating: 468 reviews Recommend |
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Writer/Director Zach Braff delivers "an Oscar®-worthy performance" (CBS-TV Chicago) opposite a "wacky and endearing" (Newsweek) Natalie Portman in this quirky, coming-of-age comedy. Twentysomething, emotionally detached Andrew "Large" Largeman (Braff) hasn’t been home to New Jersey in nine years. Now, as Large attempts to re-connect with a variety of odd acquaintances – including his father – he decides to risk getting high on the most potent and unpredictable drug there is…life! Co-starring Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm and Method Man, Garden State is "marvelous fun" (Rolling Stone)
Zach Braff (from the TV show Scrubs) stars in his writing/directing debut, Garden State — normally a doomed act of hubris, but Braff pulls it off with unassuming charm. An emotionally numb actor in L.A., Andrew (Braff) comes back to New Jersey after nine years away for his mother's funeral. Andrew avoids his bitter father (Ian Holm, The Sweet Hereafter) and joins old friends (including the superb Peter Sarsgaard, Boys Don't Cry) in a round of parties. Along the way he meets a girl (Natalie Portman, Beautiful Girls) with demons of her own; bit by bit the two offer each other a little healing. Plotwise, Garden State is familiar stuff, a cross between The Graduate and a Meg Ryan movie, but Braff has an eye for goofy but resonant visual images, an ear for lively dialogue, and a great cast. The result is surprisingly fresh and funny. — Bret Fetzer
Title: Garden State
Sales Rank: 1339 in DVD
Actor: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Amy Ferguson, Jill Flint, Gary Gilbert
Studio: 20th Century Fox, 2004-12-28, Theatrical Release: 2004
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC, Acpect Ratio 2.35:1
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed)
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 102 minutes
Package Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches, 0.15 pounds
- a simple little love story
- 9.6 THE FILM ITSELF
8.1 VISUALS
9.5 SOUND
8.5 PACKAGING
7.5 EXTRAS
Let's state the facts: This is not Zach Braff from Scrubs. On that show, he plays J.D., here he plays Andrew Largeman. They're two entirely different characters and these are two entirely different comedies. They may both… More reviews
- A shockingly forgettable state of mind...
- Continuing on in my `all things Sarsgaard' I'm actually getting to one of his greatest performances; yet sadly it is not in one of his better films.
Coming off as more of a gimmick than anything substantial, `Garden State' is one of those cult films with very rabid and devoted fans as well as very cruel and hatful detractors. I am one on the fence. I enjoy the film,… More reviews
- Touching while being real.
- Garden State was a movie I had not heard of when I first watched it. I found myself drawn in by real down to Earth characters with believe problems, like self esteem, death and changes in ones self. Zach Braff and Natalie Portman give performances that are hilarious and touching. You get the sadness in Sam's eyes and you can… More reviews
- Coming to Life Story
- Another reviewer called this a "coming of age" story. I think it's a coming-to-life story....something that some people never do, at any age. I've read the staggering statisics of the number of people on medication, legal and illegal in our fair land, and it's not a pretty fact. To reduce the film to it's basic message: it's better to face the pain of life--that's… More reviews
- Great movie
- I love this movie. It is one of my top 5 movies. Its original, touching, and funny, and has 2 of my favorite actors in it (Zach Braff and Natalie Portman). I highly recommend this movie. More reviews
