Overall, a great movie worth seeing sooner than later

Rating: Null/10 (25 August 2004)

I was actually not sure what to expect when I went to see this movie and was pleasantly surprised by it all. While it is not a perfect movie, it has characters and a story that are as complex as they are incredibly simple without making them into stereotypes of the silly female romantic lead or goofy stoner buddy. I usually like Natalie Portman because she makes most things she is in better than they actually are. I thought she was perfect as Sam, sweet but not overly goofy. For an actor that is pretty unknown outside of Scrubs, I thought Zach Braff just right without ever overdoing the apathy of being on all those prescription drugs and not acting like a crazy freed man once they left his system. Peter Sarsgaard was the first non-annoying stoner in the past decade and he had no stupid catchphrases...a first in Hollywood! He is always incredible anyways. Overall, I would give it an 8 because I really enjoyed the acting and some really great moments, but the story got me a little down, especially since I just moved home after being away for 5 years. I was surprised by some of the unexpected revelations made throughout the movie, and while I am not sure if anything gets resolved by the end of it, it is a movie for people who enjoy something different from the standard stuff that is out this summer.