Simply Beautiful Film!

Rating: 8/10 (19 March 2005)

After hearing lots of buzz about his flick, I decided to go all the way and purchase it at Best Buy just last week. Let me tell you, with all honesty, "You must see this movie!" What makes it so beautiful is the wonderful story development and the excellent characters. Zach Braff (from NBC's "Scrubs") has really stepped into something grand, and "Garden State" is his baby! Natalie Portman is especially marvelous in this flick as she steps back into a role more suitable for her, as opposed to being a stiffly-drawn, plain-speeched Senator Amidala in Lucas's epic. There are times when I found myself laughing my head off, other moments I was nearly in tears. And at one point, I was laughing so hard I did cry. In that respect, I don't want to ruin the pleasure of viewing the movie by giving away the whole plot.
In essence, Andrew "Large" Largeman (Braff) returns home after hearing of his mother's death following nine years of servitude as an actor in Hollywood. Estranged from his cold-hearted father, very well played by Ian Holm, he comes back in search of himself. He happens upon a young lady in a doctor's office by the name of Sam (Portman) and they hit it off from the beginning. Throughout, "Large" encounters high school friends Mark (Peter Sarsgaard) and an array of characters that are shady, wholesome, bizarre, and geeky.
I would recommend this movie to anyone that loves a great story full of romance, action, comedy, and drama!