This movie is reason #35834 why China will eventually take over the world.

Rating: 4/10 (27 March 2006)

So I finally saw "Garden State." Did I mention I've never seen a single episode of "Scrubs?" I only say that because a lot of people who enjoyed this movie seem to be a fan of Zach Braff and his show that enjoys the eternal debate: Is this actually funny? But enough of everyone's favorite jocular-nosed actor, on with the movie that forgets teen angst pictures are supposed to stop at age eighteen. Slow doesn't even begin to describe this flick. Is this movie really what twenty-something people view as the statement of their generation? I ask because that's what I seem to pick up with everyone who gave this movie ten stars at IMDb, and all I have to say is if this is the youth of this country.... then boy are we in trouble! Could there be a more boring, self-centered, unoriginal, naive and lazy generation? Maybe I just can't relate to the characters and their stories, but if someone had just confessed to me that he pushed his mother down the stairs and crippled her for life, the last thing I would do is hug and accept him. And for all you cinema fanatics who think Natalie Portman stole this movie -- NO! Natalie Portman is one of the most overrated young actresses in the business today. I have yet to see her play a character that didn't come across as the eternally simple teenager. (But I haven't seen "V for Vendetta" yet!) You want proof? Bust out your nerd collection and compare Natalie Portman as a princess in the Star Wars prequels to Carrie Fisher as a princess in the original trilogy. There's only one actress who comes across as someone who could actually lead a rebellion, and it ain't Portman! She's cute! Oh my god is Natalie Portman cute! And that's why everyone thinks she's a great actress. No harm in that, Hollywood is more about looks than acting. Just please don't tell me that Portman reached new levels with this character because it feels like everyone one of her previous roles. You want to see an actress kick some butt as the immature young adult discovering life's realities? Go rent "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" instead and check out Kate Winslet's performance.