What film was I watching? (Some Spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (27 August 2004)

Having been prompted to see this film by the multitude of gushing reviews on this very website by fellow users, I figured I was in for something of a treat. Like most of my twenty and thirty-something peers, I've been typically underwhelmed with this summer's palette of cinematic offerings -mostly monster and lame action flicks -none of which offered up anything remotely interesting, stimulating, or entertaining.
How sad then that "Garden State' should also fall into this category.
I went to this film expecting a strong independent vision with a fresh perspective and captivating characters and storyline. What I received was the most clichéd of clichéd plot lines (dude's mom dies, has to return home to make good with estranged daddy and meets fab chick along the way), an unintentionally arrogant character stance in Zach (this guy annoyed the heck out of me with his pompous dialogue and solipsistic mannerisms), dialog that sounds like it was lifted from first year philosophy class (and NOT a single line rang true for me, even from my buddies who took philosophy), and the lamest visual sight gags to establish how quirky and unique this film's world is -such as the humping dog, dead hamster, old motorcycle with sidecar, Vietnamese restaurant with face paint, houseboat in a canyon, etc... etc ... etc
What an immense letdown. I couldn't help wondering if it was just me? I mean, this film has received unilateral praise everywhere and I'm a fan of intelligent and captivating cinema. But this film not only left me cold but I actively disliked it. It p***ed me off and frankly, I'd like my money back. Check out Napoleon Dynamite which is a much more entertaining and solidly constructed piece of work than this pretentious piece of wonder fluff.
I don't care what everyone is saying. This movie SUCKED!