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| Garden State is certainly no minor achievement for Zach Braff. He not only stars here, but he also writes and directs. All during his downtime from headlining the hit TV series Scrubs. His acting is adequate, his writing is very promising, but it's perhaps his direction that is the most remarkably accomplished. I'm generally repelled by the kind of quirky humor that Garden State generally represents, but somehow it sucked me in. And that's no minor achievement either. It is a phenomenally cute film with much more to offer. That having been said, I hated the first twenty minutes of this movie. It was like Wes Anderson on Ritalin. Wes Anderson on Ritalin is definitely far better than Wes Anderson undistilled, but�that doesn't make what quirkiness is left any more interesting. Zach Braff's character is a prescriptioned-out actor in L.A. returning to his hometown after the sudden death of his paraplegic mother. He's been away for years, and his stay isn't particularly joyful. He meets up with old friends, but he's somehow not all there. The tone of the entire movie up to this point can be described fully and accurately by the following picture: |
| If Garden State were a classic Melrose Place vixen, it would be... |
| She meets Zach Braff at the doctor's office, where he's waiting to get some other minor thing that might be wrong with him checked out. He's helpless as some woman's seeing-eye dog humps his leg, so Natalie Portman, exhibiting experience in dealing with dog humping, walks over and informs him that if he'll just kick the dog in the balls, it'll stop. Naturally, they spend the rest of the day together, and they slowly fall for each other. The rest of the plot is somewhat incidental: Zach Braff wanders around town with Natalie Portman and another friend, deals with his mother's death, and finds himself underneath all his medications. Promptly following Natalie Portman's lead, the rest of the characters suddenly become (gasp) engaging as well; and the rest of the movie endears and fascinates, even if there's really not that much going on. Aside from the forced, somewhat saccharine conclusion, the movie is pure delightful sailing from there. Watch out for charm, adorableness, and Natalie Portman's reactions. Garden State isn't gonna be one of my favorite movies, but it was surprisingly appealing and, for the most part, remarkably well done. If quirky humor is your passion, I'd recommend this over Rushmore or an episode of Northern Exposure any day. |
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| This guy I know left after the first ten minutes. Which I'd have been tempted to do had I not been with a group of people. But, yeah, I'd suggest giving it until Natalie Portman shows up until you decide you'd rather have the money back. It lightens up. |
| 08/23/04 |
| mark (the shark) warms up to zach braff's quirky yet endearing debut |
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| glorious new jersey |
| Y'see, that his shirt matches the wall is quirky and unusual, but he's just too world-worn to care. If that's funny to you, stop reading, and rush to your local multiplex. You will love this movie. A lot. But for this reviewer, the first twenty minutes mostly played out like a really depressing comedy utilizing exclusively my least favorite kind of humor (well, least favorite outside of an Adam Sandler vehicle.) But then enter the lovely Ms. Natalie Portman. After spending years trapped in the career-sucking claws of George Lucas's failure-on-all-counts-artistic Star Wars revivals, Natalie Portman emerges here with effervescence to spare. She functions mainly as the Freethinking Stranger Who Comes Into The Hero's Life And Teaches Him What It Really Means To Live; but, man, does she own that role. The performance may not win her an Oscar, but it certainly deserves one. She takes her unexciting, occasionally ridiculous dialogue and makes it feel genuine and absolutely adorable. She keeps the insanity of every situation somewhat grounded in reality, and it is her presence that puts the rest of the movie on track. The delightfulness of her performance and the life she brings to the picture can be adequately described by the following picture of Natalie Portman smiling: |
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| Jo Reynolds pretty cool |
| (out of 10) |