Charming and Intelligent Delight -- Outstanding American Film

Rating: 10/10 (1 July 2006)

While the Hollywood studios churn out their endless stream of crappy love stories featuring big stars, all the "correct" story beats, and half-an-ounce of heart, Zach Braff found one investor with the brains and balls to bankroll this wonderfully quirky and entertaining film about two misfits who stumble into each others lives.
The story begins in a daze of imagery appropriate to the main character's mindset, befogged on a slew of legal drugs which have held him in thrall for most of his sorry life. Braff is perfectly charming in the lead role. Part of that charm is his vulnerability. Like Peter Sellers' Chauncey Gardiner in "Being There," he's an observer of life rather than a participant. But while Chauncey viewed life through the innocent eyes of a simpleton, Braff's Andrew Largeman filters it through a drug-induced haze, prescribed by his psychiatrist father.
Leaving L.A. to attend his mother's funeral in NJ, he gets swept into the tidal pool of his long lost buddies from high school, an assortment of realistic oddballs and dubiously moral characters. He also meets a girl who is just as weird and insecure as he is, a performance which showcases Natalie Portman at her very best.
While directors of similar films (like The Station Agent, another good off-the-wall romance set in New Jersey) may do a commendable job with their meager budgets, Braff has done wonders with his. A good part of the production value lies in his use of locations and the slick and artful cinematography, which give the film an expansive feel not often found in small personal dramas.
Too often "quirky" means self-indulgently goofy. Almost every frame of this film is smart and polished and original. It's ten times more entertaining than your average studio comedy.
This film was so good it reminded me that the oft-abused state of New Jersey has produced an inordinate number of great talents and huge stars, from Jack Nicholson to Tom Cruise, Danny Devito, Martha and John Stewart, Bon Jovi, Sinatra, Springsteen, Spacey etc etc all starting with Thomas Edison in Menlo Park. "Garden State" is a fitting tribute to this wellspring of talent, and Zach Braff is as talented as anyone listed above.