Garden State (2004)

aka: Large's Ark

Drama / Comedy

1 hr. 49 min.

Offbeat romantic comedy about boy (Zach Braff) who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral and meets a girl (Natalie Portman). Premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.

Rated R for language, drug use and a scene of sexuality

Directed by: Zach Braff

Starring: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Ian Holm, Peter Sarsgaard, Geoffrey Arend

Theatrical Release Date: 7/30/2004

Release Type: Limited

U.S. Box Office: $26,781,723

Video/DVD Release Date: 12/28/2004

Distributor: Fox Searchlight Films and Miramax Films

Country: USA

Language: English

Offsite: IMDB | Official Site

CRITIC	RATING	QUOTE
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert	7	This is not a perfect movie; it meanders and ambles and makes puzzling detours. But it's smart and unconventional, with a good eye for the perfect detail...
Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt	7	Though too dear at times, overly sentimental in its conclusion and sporadically overreaching to be the voice of a generation, it's otherwise emotionally spot-on...
E!	10	Some familiar indie quirkiness clutters the screen, but Braff paints a wonderful picture, adding appropriately cool music and writing dialogue that you would hear coming out of the mouths of your twentysomething friends.
filmcritic.com Jesse Hassenger	8	Garden State depicts self-realization in beautifully modulated baby steps.
New York Post Megan Lehmann	7	...with intelligent romantic comedies in such short supply, there's much to celebrate in this kooky homecoming-cum-love story.
TV Guide	6
Reel Tim Knight	7	...a bittersweet and wryly funny coming-of-age film of considerable charm and perceptive intelligence.
Slant Magazine Chris Barsanti	7	...a flawed but funny and heartfelt film...
Rolling Stone Peter Travers	7	...a hilarious and heartfelt ode to twentysomething angst.
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum	7	...a toothily winsome coming-of-age story...
New York Times Stephen Holden	7	...a small, smart, off-kilter comedy...
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas	8	...a deceptively quirky take on the homecoming comedy that gradually and deftly deepens to end on a note of redemption marked by a bracing largeness of spirit and acceptance.
People Leah Rozen	7	...an appealing story of a melancholy young man finding himself...
LA Weekly Ella Taylor	7	...a likable if flawed comedy...
Village Voice Ed Park	7	OK, so maybe no one over the age of 18 will buy the high-hope ending. But I am protecting it. I like it!
Onion AV Club Keith Phipps	5	The setup risks preciousness and pretentiousness, and it ultimately succumbs to both.
Maxim Paul Ulane	7	The alternative soundtrack and weepy make-out sessions reduce this to date-movie material more suitable for your girlfriend, but it still has enough quirky positives--comedy, drugs, New Jersey–bashing--to make it entertaining for her better half.
Premiere Peter Debruge	9	A seductive, genuine, and ultimately heartbreaking comedy...

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This movie is available on DVD/Video

ALL AVERAGE CRITIC RATING	7.2
AVERAGE USER RATING (38 ratings)	8.1

USER REVIEWS:

hhayward 10

one of the most amazing movies I have seen in a long time. It showed it doesnt have to be a comedy or about sex to pack an audience. It was just such a great movie I left walking to the music store looking to buy the sound track. :) It wasn't out yet though.

jfarber 4

Garden State looks and sounds great, almost like a two hour VW commercial. But this is not enough to make up for a boring and predicable story, and unrealistic melodramatic dialogue. The movie tries so hard to be quirky that by the end it becomes a bit frustrating to watch.

andrewparker17 10

I agree with hhayward. I went online and found the sound track at amazon though.

asbury 8

A charming film. Terrific performances, characters with depth, an endearing story. Kudos all around to Mr. Braff for direction, script and performance.

vandycutie 10

Excellent portrait of lost young people.

madmitch 10

Brilliant!

delorean 3

possibly the most overhyped, overrated movie of my lifetime. jfraber's "VW commercial" knock was spot on. no substance at all. like a REALLY well-filmed, well-soundtracked ****ty student film.

jmoeller 7

I'm glad bambi got this darkness out of his system as his future his bright. Like with Scrubs, the biggest surprise is the complex emotions that are slowly revealed.

veenified 9

Good movie that gets you to understand their true emotions. Amazing soundtrack. Very well filmed. Very true to life! minus 1 for a bit lacking storyline.

mark0 7

Quirky and fun

Oracle 8

Excellent..