Surprisingly Good

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2005)

The honesty of the writing in Garden State is what makes this movie much more than just mediocre. Zach Braff's screenplay, although a little pretentious at times, is undeniably entertaining and warm. I feel that the movie is genuine in its intentions (i.e. lacking "big" studio input), which trumps any "flaws" that might be construed in the script. For me, the end result is a touching and grown-up film.
Not since "The Professional" have I seen Natalie Portman give such a great performance, and Peter Sarsgaard does a fantastic job in this film as well. The choice of music is phenomenal; I can't think of many movies where the music was more tastefully chosen.
Garden State is not a perfect movie, but perfection was not the intent of this film. In fact, that is the message of the movie in a way. Sit back and just enjoy. I would recommend this to almost anyone.