"Good luck with your head."

Rating: Null/10 (13 June 2004)

Having watched the teaser trailer for Zach Braff's GARDEN STATE an embarassing number of times, I expected the worse. But, the film doesn't disappoint. It's weird, a little stilted at times, sure, but there's something to it.
Largeman (Braff) heads home after 9 years to attend his mother's funeral. Everybody recognizes him as that guy who played a retarded quarterback in that movie. He's been on prescription medication forever, and he's kind of a zombie when we first see him. But, along comes this girl to make him re-evaluate his life... yada yada.
The best thing about GARDEN STATE is it's direction. I like the way the images linger. The performances are effective, especially by Braff, whose character's slow snapping-out-of-it process is convincing, and Natalie Portman; their scene in the rain is a thing of beauty. Sweet relationship. I'm still not sure the last scene works; actually, I know it doesn't. We clearly understand, from the dialogue on the steps, what is said in the very next scene, without it having to be spelled out.