Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 186
Fresh: 160 | Rotten: 26
Delivering a quirky spin on familiar twentysomething tropes -- with a cannily-placed soundtrack -- Garden State has enough charm to mark a winning debut for first-time director Zach Braff.
Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 31 | Rotten: 6
Delivering a quirky spin on familiar twentysomething tropes -- with a cannily-placed soundtrack -- Garden State has enough charm to mark a winning debut for first-time director Zach Braff.
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In the wake of his success on the hit NBC sitcom Scrubs, actor Zach Braff made his debut behind the camera writing, directing, and starring in this bittersweet romantic comedy. Braff plays Andrew Largeman, a young man who has just received word of his mother's passing. With this news, Andrew returns to the town in which he grew up, where he is greeted by his father, Gideon (Ian Holm), a psychiatrist. In addition to mourning the loss of his mother, Andrew is also attempting to adjust to life
Jul 28, 2004 Wide
Dec 28, 2004
$26.7M
Fox Searchlight
All Critics (186) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (169) | Rotten (26) | DVD (35)
Feels too piecemeal and ultimately inconsequential to grab the public where it counts.
Mr. Braff, Ms. Portman, Mr. Sarsgaard and Mr. Holm never strike a false note as a remarkably coherent acting ensemble, and it is good to see Ron Leibman again in the small role of Doctor Cohen.
Sweet, fuzzy and quirky in a good way -- much like the cracked friendships it engagingly depicts.
Cleverly written, sensitively directed and very well-acted.
The best parts of this droll, quietly witty drama have the ring of truth.
The kind of movie that reminds you why you love movies so much, a film so filled with unexpected energy and ambition and sly intelligence it gives you hope for the future.
Although flawed, Garden State is a good-natured film whose very likeability leaves you willing to overlook its shortcomings.
Smart drama for mature older teens and up.
It's no longer a generational alarm clock, but for those who've seen loved ones stumble through complacent fogs of Paxil, Zoloft and the like, "Garden State" still warns that "stability" doesn't mean a numbness to anything not emotionally even-keeled.
There is not a shot in this movie that doesn't shine. If you like the well taken picture, this is a great movie for you.
Actor Zach Braff (NBC's "Scrubs") makes an impressive if unsatisfying writing and directing debut with a plaintive post-modern drama that relies on unspoken dry wit to entertain its audience (think a cross between "Harold and Maude" and "The Graduate").
Braff, who also wrote and directs, tells this story with great flair, lots of subtlety and a wonderfully paced set of revelations that come to us just as they might in real life.
[A] goofy, melancholy, seriocomic slice of life...
It's good to see Natalie Portman acting again.
full review in Greek
the quintessential product by and for uninspired times
This is a movie where 'sensitivity' and 'sincerity' are signposted by songs by Paul Simon and Nick Drake, which I guess says it all.
While Braff's script may suffer from long-windedness, his direction -- of both cast and camera -- is so confident that this debut could well mark the start of a major career.
Both funny and touching, this is a small film that deserves to be seen by a wider audience.
Es una buena primera película (...) El problema tal vez sea su incontrolable acumulación de situaciones...
Great work from Zach Braff in all categories. Full review later.
August 2, 2009Super Reviewer
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