Most of us know funny man Zach Braff from TV’s Scrubs. His character is the quirky and sometimes lost, yet knowledgeable and hilarious Doctor John “J.D.” Dorian. His humor and knack for delivering a punch line is one of the best.
He can tell you a joke with just his eyes and/or his facial expressions, a talent only few now a days have. Zach Braff can do comedy, but can he be serious? Can he write? Can he direct? Garden State put also those questions to rest with a thunderous “YES!”
On July 28, Garden State open in limited release. The movie earned high acclaim and was well be critics. Roger Ebert, Chicago theater critic and widely known just about anywhere you throw movie critics into a conversation, praised the movie giving it three stars. In reaction to the growing popularity of the movie, nearly a month after its release, Garden State opened in a now wide selection of theaters.
After an anonymous student had posted the numbers to the local theaters to get students to call and ask for Garden State, the anonymous student was rewarded with one of the theaters picking up the reel. State was finally open in Johnson City this past Friday.
Staring Zach Braff, from Scrubs, Natalie Portman, from the recent Star Wars trilogy, Peter Sarsgaard, from Empire, and Ian Holm, best known as Bilbo from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Garden State is a story about Andrew Largeman (Zack Braff), a man who has a past that he’s running away from.
From the start you can tell Andrew has something wrong with him. The opening sequence has a series of events that show Andrew is not fully there.
Something is bothering him. He returns home when he learns of his mother’s death. While at home he meets up with some of his old friends Mark and Dave (Peter Sarsgaard and Alex Burns). Also on his return, he meets the speak-my-mind Sam (Natalie Portman). The story, without giving too much away, pretty much goes from there.
I loved the character Andrew. His disassociation from the world is sad and you feel for his character deeply. The question of why he is the way he is haunts the audience until its explanation.
His struggle from being “numb” to feeling again is the reason why the movie is great. It’s a real journey, involving real people and real-life situations. This is what sets most independent movies apart from Hollywood movies.
Yes, we may not like the characters at certain moment or in certain situations (Portman’s character can get annoying at times and his friends are real “fill in the blank with a swear word here”) but that’s what the story calls for.
Why? It’s simple: this is a real story about real people. Sure, you may or may not like his friends or Sam, but it’s what Andrew likes.
In a movie like this, you can’t put your personal feelings ahead of the main character. This is Andrew’s story and his struggle and rise to whatever it is he is trying to solve.
Braff does an excellent job writing the characters and their dialogue. The conversation between the characters was perfectly written. The friends flowed with their dialogue, while the dialogue between characters who clashed was awkward and uneasy, like real life.
Granted there were thing that should have been changed. The hotel scene with Method Man (yes he is in the movie) could – and probably should – have been changed.
The pool scene would have worked better if it was just Braff and Portman’s character alone in a different setting. Portman’s character, spunky as she is, can get annoying at times.
Many people would also argue that the drug content in the movie was too much, but again that’s real life. That’s the theme behind the movie. Andrew’s dad Gideon Largeman is a real jerk who is also blaming Andrew for an event that happened a while ago. Ian Holm does a great job playing Gideon, who plays a very convincing father in denial.
Overall this movie is great. The direction is a very smooth and very focused on who the characters are, what Andrew’s problem is and what he is going to do to solve it.
The script is well written. Braff has done a great job writing dialogue and situation. The actors also play the characters well and do a good job of expressing what they feel.
Yes, there are some spots bad on the movie. But, Garden State and Zach Braff do a great job of telling the story of a man who is looking for a way to cure his numbness.
Garden State is a realistic movie with realistic characters and realistic situations. It is a must see.

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