Lots of appeal, but don't think about it too much.

Rating: 7/10 (11 March 2005)

While watching Garden State, I got the sense that Zach Braff had trouble restraining his creativity. The very beginning had lots of "look at me" moments, and he always jumped at the chance to mimic the super-plussed cool of Wes Anderson. Not that you can blame him for the homage.
The character (or the acting, however you want to look at it) was natural and spunky. Braff's knack for character quirks made for some memorable moments, but really only Natalie's and Zach's, and to a lesser extent Peter's, characters had any depth. This only becomes a problem when, like in the scene with the Mother's locket and the storytelling by the hearth, a character is called upon to create an emotional atmosphere. In the former, it's difficult to see Peter's character as having such nostalgic or sentimental sensibilities as to create that whole set-up just to return a locket.
I could go on, but it would be like analyzing a Clancey novel for its lack of character empathy. Braff created a solid narrative and told it with precision and care. It was fun...just don't think about it too much.