Looking for a new idea of home...

Rating: 7/10 (18 August 2004)

Who would have thought that the unassuming kid from Scrubs would turn around and create such a poignant, funny, unassuming film? In the same vein as Rushmore and Napoleon Dynamite, Zach Braff's deadpan, existential Garden State is an outstanding debut. Braff (who also wrote and directed) stars as Andrew Largeman, a heavily sedated actor who returns home for the first time in a decade for his mother's funeral. Largeman's claim to fame is that he once played a retarded athlete in a MOW. While Braff's character observes life through lithium-glazed eyes and a passive attitude, Garden State is filled with energetic and unpredictable characters. Stellan Sarsgaard plays a moody grave digger who steals jewelry off the corpses he buries; and Natalie Portman brings an adorable depth and humor to Sam, an epileptic, pathological liar who slowly falls in love with Largeman. All of Braff's characters are effortlessly likable as they continuously take stock of their lives and struggle with their angst. There's a particularly hilarious scene involving a hardware store employee trying to bring Largeman in on a pyramid scheme that should make everyone wonder what happened to the people they lost touch with after high school. The film's real trick though is the way it lets a lot of exposition hang in the air without forcing the story forward, relying instead on wonderfully funny gags, a thoughtful soundtrack and smart dialogue. Nothing is made of Sam's condition, or Sarsgaard's disturbing habits. Even Largeman's relationship with his psychiatrist (who also happens to be his father) is allowed to unfold rather matter-of-factly. It's a decision that can backfire very easily. But Garden State pulls it off and leaves you anticipating Braff's next move.