Customer Reviews

Garden State

5 star:		(206)
4 star:		(79)
3 star:		(36)
2 star:		(36)
1 star:		(50)

 

 

I found so much of this movie answered the questions i had been having in my life. It made me feel so good about what I have and ok with what I don't have. It made me see what is important in life. It sounds cliche to the maximum, but I laughed, I cried, and.....well I laughed more than I cried, but I left the theater (twice) with a complete and utter sense of awe. This is a spectacular movie.

I'll have to admit that for the first ten minutes or so of the film, the casual coarse language used by Largeman (Zach Braff)'s high school buddies seemed like a gratuitous and slightly strained reach toward "hipness," in effort to appeal to a younger generation of moviegoers. Blame this in part on my being on the other side of the generation gap. But as I began to know the characters better, it dawned on me that this WAS the younger generation (at least a real part of its disenfranchised subculture, one of which I know very little) and offers an honest representation of the way they speak.

There is a tremendous heart to this film, characterized when Braff, Natalie Portman, and Peter Sarsgaard's characters both literally and metaphorically unleash a scream into the "eternal abyss." Their pent-up frustration stems from the recognized irony that each of us is trapped in a world not of his own making with all of its seemingly irrational expectations and demands. Though we may anesthetize ourselves from the sad truths behind our sustaining myth of self-determination, we risk blinding ourselves to the great redeeming aspect of our existance: the love of the people around us.

Natalie Portman as Largeman's girlfriend, Sam, is utterly luminous here. Not to mention she made me fall in love. I am embarassed to say I had to wait for the end credits to discover who this wonderful actress was (I have religiously avoided the obscenely over-merchandised Star Wars films of late and knew little of her adult work since her childhood debut in "The Professional.") Meryl Streep -- your spiritual daughter and future heir is growing up quite nicely.

The film's great heroic act belongs to Sarsgaard's character who leads Largeman and Sam on a bizarre odyssey through the small town's seamy underbelly in quest of an equally bizarre "gift" for Largeman. His gift becomes an understated but moving act of redemption. Redemption is what the film is about. The fact that each of us posesses the power to in some way redeem one another is the movie's great hope.

I understand the squeamish who might balk at the R-rated language. But the lesson here is that there can be redeeming qualities (and even shared values) among those who don't quite view the world through the same eyes. Before you close yourself off from someone else's world that you don't understand, just stand there for a moment -- as on Boo Radley's porch -- and view the world from their shoes. The universe soon begins to look a little different. And a whole lot larger. Don't miss this one.

I had never heard of that movie until recently, and I had no idea that it was both written and directed by Zach Braff. Within about 10 minutes into the movie, I knew that whomever directed this was definitely talented, and whomever had written it was equally talented. By the end of the movie and the credits, I realised who was behind all this, and I was surprised. I like Zach Braff very much for his acting, but until then it was unknown to me that the guy was so gifted behind a camera and a pen.

Even though the main plot is relatively simple, this movie has truly compelling bits of weirdness and oddities. If you're into details, you'll probably love this film as much as I do; not a second of this movie is a bore, and I'm still amazed at the tireless richness of it. The direction is splendid and the substance is pure, not to mention the soundtrack which lets you know that someone is a tasteful listener of music (that being Mr. Braff, again).

Natalie Portman is absolutely stunning in this movie. She blew my mind. I guess that seeing her as queen Amidala in Star Wars made me think she wasn't anything special as an actress, but in "Garden State", her true potential comes out shining and exploding. She truly is amazing and talented; that film totally changed my perception of her as an actress, now I know she is genuinely good. So is Braff; and the two together - well they're just a fantastic pair.

Compared to most movies, this one comes as a breath of fresh air. It's inspiring too because it does so much with "so little"; for as I said before, the details here matter. To name but a few: silent velcro, skating alligators, epilepsy security helmet, house-boat, etc.

I can't recommend this movie enough. And I can't wait for more work from Zach Braff, who I now know is very promising as a director and writer. Honestly, I put very much hope in him. I didn't see it in 2004, but if you have to see two movies from that year, they would have to be "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Garden State".

A must see.

I have to admit that I may be biased because this is my favorite movie of all time. I think Zach Braff is a brilliant genius.

Sam, played by Natalie Portman, is adorably comical. She knows she has imperfections, especially lying, yet she almost seems flawless, and I think there is an instant connection with this character; you can't help but adore her.

I think from the start, you fall in love with the characters in this movie. I think a lot of people, especially with the way society is today, can even identify with Andrew's decision to finally live life, whether that means leaving a lithium induced haze, or finally appreciating everything around you. My favorite scene from the movie:

"Andrew Largeman: You know that point in your life when you realize that the house that you grew up in isn't really your home anymore? All of a sudden even though you have some place where you can put your stuff that idea of home is gone.
Sam: I still feel at home in my house.
Andrew Largeman: You'll see when you move out, it just sort of happens one day, one day and it's just gone. And you can never get it back. It's like you get homesick for a place that doesn't exist. I mean it's like this right of passage, you know. You won't have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for your kids, for the family you start, it's like a cycle or something. I miss the idea of it. Maybe that's all family really is. A group of people who miss the same imaginary place."

Brilliance! I don't know anybody that cannot identify with feeling that way at some point. I think everyone needs to see this movie at least once. It will make you laugh, it could make you cry, but overall, it leaves you with with this feeling that you are okay, and life, if not perfect, is okay. "There's Beauty In The Breakdown."

this is definitely a movie to see if you've ever felt like screaming into "the infinite abyss." braff creates a story that is honest enough to be touching, quirky enough to be real. his imagery is both profound and effective, almost primarily because of the sometimes dry, sometimes laugh out loud silliness of the dialogue and situations used to carry it. if you like armor, or crazy motorbikes, or hamsters, or love, this is the movie for you. if you've ever felt trapped, or numb, or rejected, or odd, this is the movie for you. if you like amazing music, talented actors, and incredible cinematography, this is the movie for you.
when i left the theater, i felt humbled, and amazed, and a little less alone. stunning technical elements aside, i walked out of garden state feeling good.

My girlfriend and I became so obsessed with this film that we drove 100 miles to see it in Hollywood four times since it wasn't showing in our town. We then saw it two more times when our town finally began showing it. The film is one of the few movies I can watch over and over again and never tire of it. The soundtrack is also very well put-together and makes each scene that much more enjoyable.

I like Zach Braff; I think he's a funny actor. His show "Scrubs" is one of my favorite sitcoms on television right now. When I heard of this movie I was excited to see Zach directing in a film in which he plays a serious part.

After watching this film, I must say I didn't feel the way I was expecting to feel. I wasn't disappointed nor was I satisfied. From all the hype that surrounded this film, I guess I expected something a little more.

Zach Braff is likeable in this film. Although I didn't feel a connection with his character, I did feel sympathy for him. Zach plays the character very well. He proves that he can play a comedic role as well as a dramatic one. Natalie Portman's character, I found to be very annoying at first. Her hyper over-the-top character takes a while to tolerate, but never fully becomes likeable. And it's nowhere as good as Kate Winslet's wacky character in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".

I felt disapointed about several things about this movie. One huge thing that disappointed me was the fact that this film lack any emotional scenes. While watching the movie, I patiently waited for a scene where the characters show some heavy emotion, but every time one was about to happen, I felt that director Zach pulled back by adding some quirky humor. One scene in particular was one towards the end where Zach's character finally cries for the first time, but the scene just fails after Portman's character ruins the moment by acting quirky.

I also felt that the relationship between Zach's character and his father wasn't explored enough. I would have liked more scenes with them together where the sort out their differences.

The "adventure" the characters go on, if you can call it an adventure, felt kind of forced. The ending of the film also seemed a bit forced and cliched.

However, despite these setbacks, the film has strong moments. One of them is the opening dream sequence of a plane going down with Zach's character in it. I thought this scene would foreshadow something that perhaps would have happened in the end (which probably would have been better), but the scene is just there to show a disturbing dream. I like the party scenes and the scene at the pool. One of my favorite scene is one at Portman's backyard pet cemetery. This scene was probably the strongest scene emotionally.

The soundtrack is good and the imagery and sets are good to look at. I would recommend this film to someone who wants to see it so they can make their own judgement.

I do give credit to Zach Braff for making a decent directorial debut and for giving a superb performance. I look forward to seeing his future work and hope his next film will be much better.

Zach Braff's directorial debut, Garden State, is the essence of an independent film. Made for a paltry (by Hollywood standards) $2.5 million, it has gone on to gross over ten times its budget and, more importantly, become the defining film for a generation of young, disaffected people who clearly identify with this personal movie and its fascinating characters.

There is an audio commentary by Braff and Portman that is quite engaging and personable. Not surprisingly, Braff dominates while Portman gamely asks him many questions to keep things going.

There is a second audio commentary featuring Braff, director of photography Lawrence Sher, editor Myron Kerstein and production designer Judy Becker. With his dry wit, Braff MCs this track as the participants talk about the more technical aspects of the movie.

Also included are 16 deleted scenes with optional commentary by all the participants from the second commentary. Braff puts the footage in its context and talks about why they were cut (for time).

"The Making of Garden State" examines how Braff put his movie together. There is quite a bit of decent behind-the-scenes footage and plenty of interview soundbites from the cast and crew. For a Making Of featurette it is refreshingly free of an excess of clips from the movie that always pad out the running time of these things.

There is also a fairly amusing collection of blown lines and bloopers.

Finally, there is a promo for the film's soundtrack.

Garden State is a film bursting with ideas, keen observations on life and memorable images that make most other films look inert by comparison. There is a tendency for first-time filmmakers to throw everything into the mix on their debut because they aren't sure if the film will succeed and they'll get a second chance. Based on the strong critical and commercial success of Garden State, I don't think Zach Braff will have this problem.

Well, i was one of the few people i know that actually liked this movie, which is sad, because that suggests they are all to accustomed to their straight predictable storylines, sex and violence. What go me the hardest was the innocence amidst such tribulations, in a town he left a long time ago, he finds himself imediately immersed in serious things, but soon thereafter meets Sam (Portman) and through the movie you can see her innocence affecting him. and it all comes to culmination when they are about to go to the "ark". Large is so sure his friend is going to give him a present he is trying to get away from if you will.
Another of the best parts of the movie was in fact the lack of overexagerated sex scenes. They are unnecessary. There is real emotional developement to this. All the stages are there, they don't just hop in bed and immediately love each other...there isnt a person that can tell me that is always how it works in real life....this is a good, real depiction...
i have never bothered to write a review before, but i feel strongly that this movie warrants and effort out of me

I have always been a big Scrubs fan so I had to see this movie. It did not disappoint me. The movie was so good because it felt so real. It was not stuck in the world of Hollywood where everything is perfect. I do not want to give away the movie, but it really had a good take on life. For example, in a touching part of the movie, Braff's character defines love as a Mother giving her sleeve for him to wipe his nose. Additionally, the two main characters, Portman and Braff, both have flaws. They truly love each other, but they love each because of and in spite of their flaws. This simulates real life and real love in comparison to the type of love that Hollywood generally protrays. Hollywood generally only shows us the bliss that people feel whe they are idealizing their mate. Many romances that survive in movies would die in real life quickly, because once this bliss wears off there would be nothing left. This movie was different because you felt Braff and Portman saw and acknowledged each other's flaws. Great film and great accompanying soundtrack.