Rating: 
Summary: very down to earth movie
Review: i found the movie very emotional actually. i love it so much because it deals with the character and not what the character does. throughout the movie "largeman" slowly begins to realize who is and why is he that way and what has shaped him. and thats really what everyone wants. so many movies are about a problem or an event but this one is about the actual character. it is also really funny. the soundtrack is really good. its just a really good down to earth movie
Rating: 
Summary: A Two Hour Ad for Zach Braff's iPod
Review: I hate people with iPods. Really, I do. And it's not just because I don't have one, though that's a big part of it. No, what I hate is that lots of people have them just to have them. Oh, I see them walking down the street with their little white headphones, nodding at each other like they belong to some secret society. Oh, they may say they're listening to the Shins, but it wouldn't surprise me if they actually didn't know how to work the thing and were just listening to nothing at all.
What does any of this have to do with Garden State? Garden State strikes me as one of those flicks people say they like without actually liking it. Give Zach Braff credit. With Garden State, he accomplishes a lot. He writes, directs, and stars in his own first feature. He gets to make out with Natalie Portman (though after hearing her character talk, you may not think this is such a good thing). And he gets to show people what great musical taste he has. The Shins? Check. Zero 7? Uh-huh.
The problem? There's no real movie here. There are lots of musical interludes that don't advance the story. There's lots of quirky anecdotes. But there's no story holding everything together. Some of the pieces are there, but Garden State takes so many detours it doesn't end up going anywhere.
And frankly, despite all that, I probably still would have liked the flick if Portman's character never appeared on screen. In what's easily the most awkward comic performance since Heather Graham ruined the second Austin Powers flick, Portman intrudes on the film like the girl in college who lived across the hall and never, ever, shut up.
It struck me watching Garden State that Portman is this generation's equivalent of Winona Ryder. I knew someone who worked with Ryder, who said everyone was so transfixed by her beauty that they didn't realize her performance was terrible until it was too late. And so it is with Portman, who can't pull off the sort of character that Kate Winslet made indelible in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In a quiet film, her Sam is the grating character that everyone in the movie likes but no one in the audience does.
But I've complained too much. Some people are programmed to like movies like Garden State, because they don't want their barista to be angry with them. And that's all right. But one day, Zach Braff (who is clearly talented) will realize the importance of what his movie is as opposed to what's in it. And that's the movie I'm waiting to see.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent debut
Review: I was lucky enough to see "Garden State" at the LA Film Festival, where it was the centerpiece attraction, as it was at Sundance, where it won top honors. As well it should have been. It is EXCELLENT. This is Zach Braff's masterwork, a film that by all accounts should not have been made ("hi, i am the funny guy from "Scrubs," can you help me make a movie I have written, directed and want to star in?") This is the story of Andrew Largemann (aka "Large" to his buddies) who has to fly across the country to attend the funeral of his mother. (...)
Rating:
Summary: So, what do we do?
Review: Not only has Garden State topped my fave films of 04, it also eased it's way into my number 9 spot, of my favorite films of all time.
Garden State is the directorial debut of TV's "Scrubs" actor Zach Braff, and also stars him as the leading role. Braff plays Andrew Largeman, a twenty-something detached numbed-out wannabe actor living in Los Angeles, who is doused up to the eyballs on medication. After recieving a call from his almost-non-existant father, telling him his mother passed away, Andrew flys back to his hometown of Newark, New Jersey for his mother's funeral.
Andrew stays in Newark for a few days, catching up with his frinds, among them is the hilarious Mark (Peter Sarsgaard), and his white trash cougar of a mother (Jean Smart), and a few more. But above all, during a chance encounter, Andrew befriends a quirky cute girl named Sam, brilliantly portrayed by Natalie Portman, in a performance that should have got an Oscar nod. Sam brings out a part of Andrew, that he though never existed in him.
This is a heartwarming, tragic, sad, hilarious, and everything-in-between tale. A great film for whatever STATE your in.
Rating:
Summary: Just An Awesome Film
Review: Zach Braff proves he's a master at both writing and directing. This film is so wonderful-- it's simply a great story. It's got the feel of other films that also tell great stories, like Lost in Translation or Pieces of April. All great. This is the story of Andrew Largeman (Braff) who lives in L.A. as a wannabe actor. It's been nine years since he's been home, and the death of his mother is what takes him back to the garden state. Braff plays this character with excellence-- fun, but perhaps misunderstood, with a lingering sadness. Everyone else in the movie is just as wonderful. Natalie Portman plays the eccentric Sam, who when they first meet, tells him to listen to a song because it will change his life. Peter Sarsgaard plays Largeman's partying friend-- talk about a scene stealer! When this film comes to a theater near you, I highly recommend seeing it. It's the perfect movie to see when you need a break from the typical summer movies that you seem to see every year. Garden State boasts a fantastic script, great acting, awesome cinematography, and everything else someone could want in a wonderful film.
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