Delightful Gem

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2006)

The troubled twenty-six years old Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) returns from Los Angeles, where he works as a waiter in a Korean restaurant after playing a retarded athlete in a TV show, to his hometown in New Jersey for the funeral of his mother. He meets his old friends and a compulsive liar, Samantha (Natalie Portman), for whom he falls in love. Four days later, Andrew heals his wounds with the love and attention of Sam.
With a very simple storyline, but supported by an excellent team of charismatic cast and a great music score, "Garden State" is a delightful gem. This feel-good low-budget movie may be overrated in IMDb (top 250: #244); has many reviews written by users with only one comment in total in a very fake promotion, usual in IMDb to promote certain movie (this people will certainly give lots of negative votes to my review, isn't it Alex?). But this little movie really deserves to be watched, and in the end the viewer will certainly like the romance between the weird Zach Braff and the stunning Natalie Portman, certainly one of my favorite actresses of the young generation. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Hora de Voltar" ("Time to Come Back")