Great film, worthy of its high ranking.

Rating: 9/10 (6 November 2004)

It's interesting when a film receives critical praise and adulation from the masses (thus propelling it into the top rankings on IMDb) and yet so many focus their efforts to argue the point. Is it good or is it bad?
This is naturally a subjective art, but in a year where supposed great quirky films such as I HEART HUCKABEES serve only to disappoint, a film like GARDEN STATE really blew me away. This should garner an Oscar for best original screenplay simply because of the originality of the story and the excellent dialogue. It reminded me of a young-person's version of SIDEWAYS, which is a huge compliment. The fact that I'm in my mid-30's should tell you, however, that you don't have to be young to enjoy it.
Each character was perfect (especially Natalie Portman and Peter Saarsgard) but I would agree the mannerisms and voice of Zach Braff reminded me of a strange cross between Ray Romano and Mark Ruffalo. That didn't take away from his performance, but it just made it a little strange.
Perhaps the greatest strength of this film is the humor and how it is conveyed to the audience. Rather than setting up obvious pratfalls and quickly cutting away to reinforce the joke, this movie isn't afraid to pause and linger on the funny elements. It worked incredibly well and at this point of 2004 I'd have to rate it the funniest film I've seen all year.
For those who haven't seen this, I highly recommend that you check it out.
9/10
ebhp