Garden State (3/5 stars)

Rating: 7/10 (21 March 2005)

I don't think there are any real spoilers in here but I don't want the folks at IMDb to become angry with me so that is why you see the warning. But like I usually say: if you are really picky then move on.
Synopsis: "Garden State" at its heart, is a quirky love story. Braff's character must return to his childhood home after learning of his mother's death. This of course is a problem because it is his past that haunts him. However, Braff's character goes home nonetheless. There, he meets a very bizarre but lovable character played by Portman. They soon fall in love. Through the course of this movie Braff's character encounters many of his inner-demons and begins to deal with him. For example, Braff's character tell his father how he really feels for the first time (you know, the typical father/son cliché). Soon enough, Braff's character decides to head back home to LA, but if he does this then he will leave Portman's character behind and their love life will diminish. What does he do?! He stays of course, which makes a cute but typical ending. The acting was absolutely superb; Braff plays a complacent individual like it was second nature, and Portman breezes through a very weird role, and not only this, but she makes us love her character in the process. Braff also directed and wrote this nice little story, and I look forward to seeing more of his work. Some of the only problems with this movie was its clichés and lack of excitement at certain points. Overall I give "Garden State": 3 out of 5 stars.
NOTE: 1/5 stars = bad 2/5 stars = OK 3/5 stars = good 4/5 stars = great 5/5 stars = classic