Pretty good tale of twenty-something angst

Rating: 9/10 (22 August 2004)

Garden State is Part stoner flick, part love story, part family drama. The main character flies back to his New Jersey home to attend his mother's funeral. He reconnects with old friends, meets a new girl, and faces the demons haunting him in the form of his father.
This is a good film, well acted and well written. The characters are compelling, the situations are funny when they're meant to be and sobering when they're not. There are some hysterical scenes involving illicit substance abuse at a house party; some tender scenes involving the new girl in his life; and some dramatic scenes with his father.
The best part of this film is how they portray the psychopharmacology. The main character was put on lithium as a child (after he inadvertently caused a tragic accident), yet he leaves all of his meds in L.A. when he goes to New Jersey. The filmmakers do a great job portraying how this young man becomes more and more alert, to not only love but also to pain, as the drugs leave his system. In the end he is more capable of feeling anything than he ever was.
9 out of 10. Could have been a little tighter here and there, but nothing major to quibble about.