Classy? Subtle? Poignant?

Rating: 1/10 (17 December 2004)

I credit Natalie Portman for being extremely talented but unfortunately, she has given two good performances this year in uneven movies.
Garden State is not a 'bad' movie, please do not get me wrong. Natalie Portman absolutely shines in it, but it is also an empty, narcassistic film not worthy of comments like "defines a generation" and "beautifully crafted." It does not fail to entertain and it is nice and fluffy. Although I do not know if that is necessarily complementary.
This movie is a great outlet for Zach Braff to show how much of an ego he has. He is NOT a very good actor nor is he a writer. He borrows a lot from "The Graduate" and in return produces a very similar film for the typical "misunderstood" indie teen crowd.
The film has been called "quirky" far too often. Okay, ill give it that. But a lot of style and no substance do not make a movie. It appears that Braff has taken directing lessons from Wes Anderson, PT Anderson, Alexander Payne and Todd Schlondz but fell asleep during their screen writing seminar. The scene in the end where Largeman gives his speech to his father about "this being life" is so badly written and tries so hard to be down to earth that it has the ability to destroy the movie, had it been good up to this point.
There are things about the film I did enjoy. I liked the scene in Sams bedroom where she talks about doing something no one has ever done before. I liked the scene where Peter Sarrsgard takes Sam and Largeman to get his mothers necklace back. If only the entire thing had been that well-written.
So see this movie for good performances from Peter Sarrsgard and Natalie Portman. Don't see it thinking its going to "define your generation" or you are "totally going to relate with it." And if your looking for quirky film-making, stick with Wes Anderson, someone who actually does have talent.