Average flick

Rating: 5/10 (26 May 2013)

Finally got around to watch this movie today (I'm late, I know). First, let me say that I've always been a big Scrubs fan, which made me want to watch this movie. And while I think for a first time writer-director it's an alright effort with some good ideas, on the whole it's no more than a mediocre movie for me. Braff has clearly tried to make an ambitious movie and I give him credit for that, but in the end this movie ends up more like a standard romance flick than a serious character study.
Even though the airport scene was clearly a rip-off from Fight Club, I actually liked the first 15-20 minutes, maybe until the party scene (which is filmed in a style that's also been done in a lot of films). But from then on, the movie (slowly but surely) becomes the victim of its own ambition.
The biggest flaw for me is the character drawing. I actually like Braff's character, he has got some depth and you really get to know him. But sadly, that's about it. Natalie Portman? Yes, she's incredibly gorgeous. Yes, she plays her role extremely well. But her character remains unrealistic and cliché for me. She hasn't got real depth and at the end of the movie, I didn't have the feeling I knew very much about Sam. You see, she's incredibly nice, quirky, adventurous, always upbeat and seems to be incredibly innocent. Yes, she's an obsessive liar, but apart from that she's a total cliché. It's like Braff thought 'Well, what kind of girl could a guy like Largeman fall in love with?' And sadly, he came up with the stereotype of girls who get the guy in romantic movies. It's always the same, there's this one totally awesome girl, this sweet-girl-next-door-type, who never says a bad word and never does a bad thing, who's absolutely likable and who ends up with the guy. This is not inventive character drawing, this is 08/15.
On the other hand, Largeman's friends are quite realistically drawn, but completely unlikeable. I wouldn't even spent time with most of them if I'd been offered money.
The worst character is his father, though, as it looks like Braff didn't even make any effort to give him any kind of personality at all. Yes, he's drugging Largeman, fine. That's not nice. And he seems to hold him somewhat responsible for the accident which led to the paraplegia of Largeman's mother. But that's about everything we get to know about him. I think that to really explore Largeman's character we would have to take a deep look into the relationship with his father and how that affects his life, but unfortunately Braff doesn't give us the opportunity to. The 'conversation' they have at the end is a complete joke, the dialogue being about 60 seconds long and the summary of it would look like this:
Largeman: The drugs are ruining my life. I will not take them any more. But I forgive you for drugging me. His father then only says one sentence, like: I am your doctor and you shouldn't go against my recommendation. Then Largeman says: I will live my life the way I want to. But I think we should respect each other and try to be happy. I hope we can do that.
That's it. That's where the movie completely lost me. If you ask me, that's really awfully done. Just look at a movie like Magnolia, which explored parent-child-relationships and their impact on both incredibly well, and this looks absolutely amateurish in comparison. And that's because it is.
I didn't really care much for the cheesy love scene at the end, where Largeman is about to fly back to L.A., only to change his mind, leave the plane and go back to the weeping Sam, who he met some three days ago. That's the typical ending of a romance movie again, which, again, isn't bad - but if you try to make an ambitious movie that's more than the average Hollywood love story, you shouldn't let it end that way.
So, on the whole, it's not like there's nothing to enjoy in Garden State. But it certainly is no extraordinary movie. It's a decent love story and that's where it succeeds. But if you expect it to really explore the life of a troubled young man in his mid-20s, it simply falls short.