Garden State 2004
After renting this movie from Netflix, I read some of the user reviews and it seems people either believed the characters of Garden State and loved the movie, or thought they were frauds and hated it. I believed the characters. And the bad language, rampant drug use, and sexual situations didn’t bother me, but be warned: This movie isn’t a guide on how to live your life.
Anyway, back to the characters. They are eccentric and you would never find such an odd assortment of people hanging out together, but I enjoyed getting to know them. There are a lot of funny scenes and great dialogue and the romance at the center of the movie is sweet, with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman’s characters both flawed and both needing each other. Writer, director, and actor Braff obviously has real affection for the material in this movie, just as Cameron Crowe had for Almost Famous. That may make the movie seem too soft to some, but done right I think it provides a lot of warmth.
The movie still has flaws. The folksy acoustic soundtrack is a little too much at times and some of the humor is forced (dogs humping legs might have been funny the first time someone made fun of it). Peter Sarsgaard’s character seems like he could kill someone at any time. I don’t think getting off of anti-depressants after 15 years would be a picnic either. But I think when doing something unconventional, not everything can work perfectly. A nice surprise. A.
Written: 27 Jul 2006
Owned on: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital