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Garden State
Fox Searchlight Pictures / Miramax Films


8.0

based on 37 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 142 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for language, drug use and a scene of sexuality

Starring Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm, Method Man, and Jean Smart

Andrew Largeman (Braff) shuffled through life in a lithium-induced coma until his mother's death inspired a vacation from the pills to see what might happen. When he travels from L.A. back to his hometown, he meets Sam (Portman), a girl who is everything he isn't. Her warmth and fearlessness give him the courage to open his heart to the joy and pain of the infinite abyss that is life. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Zach Braff
DIRECTED BY:	Zach Braff
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: December 28, 2004 Video: December 28, 2004 Theatrical: July 28, 2004
RUNNING TIME:	119 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Nominated, Grand Jury Prize (Dramatic), 2004 Sundance Film Festival

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Premiere Peter Debruge

Garden State gets it. Not since "The Graduate" has a movie nailed the beautiful terror of standing on the brink of adulthood with such satisfying precision.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

There's even a Simon and Garfunkel tune on the soundtrack, which makes Braff's character seem like the only living boy in New Jersey, which, of course, he may well be. L'chaim!

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Garden State is filled with characters you long to know more about, in situations to which almost anyone can relate. And that's as near a can't-miss movie formula as one can get.

Empire Olly Richards

A great debut from a promising talent.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The movie never finds a consistent tone -- the humor is dynamically offbeat, the dramatic moments a bit canned -- but Braff's affection for his misfit characters and skeptical take on how people sell themselves short in America make this the truest generational statement I've seen since "Donnie Darko."

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Garden State charms with ease and moves with grace; it's warm but never mushy, languorous but never groggy, rueful but never despondent. It's like a perfect pop song--that thing that makes you smile and tear up at the same time.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Garden State illuminates a young man's overdue coming of age with unexpected depth and grace.

The Hollywood Reporter Duane Byrge

Writer/director Zach Braff has threaded a powerful and intelligent personal story through a genre all too rare today – romantic comedy.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

It's a hilarious and heartfelt ode to twentysomething angst. Braff has himself a winner.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Though unlikely to have the lasting quality of "The Graduate," it feels a bit like that seminal film for today's generation.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Sometimes veers off into preciosity. But it offers something rare in the bond between Andrew and Sam.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Certainly Garden State is a very American specimen of debut indie form, its loose, goof-about scenes of comic melancholy reinforced with the glue of quirkiness over cracks in the narrative development.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Braff makes a striking directorial debut while leading a superb ensemble cast.

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

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 as it follows Andrew back to his Garden State hometown for his mother's funeral.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

The best performances are those of Portman and the resourceful Peter Sarsgaard (Shattered Glass) as Mark.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

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 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.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

A fanciful little indie brimming with emo music and curious little vignettes, marks a self-conscious but very promising debut for "Scrubs" star Zach Braff.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Zach Braff, who shot the film near his hometown of South Orange, N.J., directed this drama with subtle flair and wrote a star part that perfectly fit his acting range.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

There's no denying the intelligence at work here, or Braff's skill at weaving off-the-wall humor and sight gags into a story that, at heart, is profoundly sad.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Braff is bright and has a quick ear for vernacular dialogue, and he's caught the look and the sound of his blitzed, prematurely disillusioned generation, which has had to live with more lack of definition than most.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Garden State features some wonderful performances, chief among them an engaging, even courageous turn from Natalie Portman.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

An edgy quasi-comedy, it's very funny in places, touching in others. There is a little unevenness. But for a directorial debut, it's amazingly assured.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Small, smart, off-kilter comedy.

Village Voice Ed Park

Braff's naive romanticism is also lovely proof of the film's innocent heart.

Film Threat Tim Merrill

When Braff keeps the tears and the kookiness in check, he takes us into some unusual, interesting areas of the human psyche. And makes us laugh a good deal while he's at it.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

While most movies would sink under the weight of such eccentricity, pretentiousness and earnestness, Garden State is so full of wit and the genuine heart of characters that you can't help but care about what happens to them.

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

Zach Braff has come up with a charming, funny, melancholy ode to twentysomething angst.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

As long as you go into Garden State with reasonable expectations, its capacity to disappoint will be limited.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Braff's deadpan performance and dry reactions are deft, and his ability to shape a scene to a punctuation point is impressive, but he's all over the place as a writer.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

A standard issue, first-movie navel-gaze whose cobwebs Braff meticulously sweeps away by directing the bejesus out of it. The photography makes loveliness out of the film's dank, hung-over atmosphere; the camerawork and editing lend the movie a luscious daydreaminess.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Braff, and Garden State, give it the old college try, and at least some, if not all, of the sparks catch. Even if the movie doesn't quite take off, it doesn't leave you feeling stranded, either.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Although Zach Braff's promising writing-directing debut is a bit affected, few actors with behind-the-camera aspirations succeed as well as the Scrubs star does with this melancholy romantic comedy.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Feels too piecemeal and ultimately inconsequential.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

Garden State coasts on this considerable charm until it hits a brick wall in its final segments.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

What the movie lacks -- a big lack, not a fatal lack -- is a compelling character at its center. Everyone in Garden State is fun, skewed, strange and singular.

Slate David Edelstein

Say this for actors: Too self-centered to be embarrassed, they can be existential heroes of a (moronic) sort.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Mr. Braff's idea of self-discovery is my idea of narcissism.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 142 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kyle L gave it a10:
I think this movie has everything a movie needs to be great! It is hilarious at times, sad at times, and it can bring you to reality as well. A Great movie in my opinion!

Cindy P gave it a10:
Probably my favorite movie to date. I can watch it over and over again. The acting is incredible and the story is real and moving. I can't imagine how anyone could not like this movie!!

Justin R. gave it a10:
It's so beautiful. Everyone grows up and you can relate to the feeling of finding yourself. All of us have to do it, and Mr. Braff did a flawless job.

Douglas F. gave it a7:
Good flick! Can't say I'd see it twice but this was a real cute story with some fine acting by all parties. Braff could easily be misconstrued as keeping the movie a bit slow and such but this creates a genuine pace around a fella doped on lithium for about a decade. I thought the ending was a little rushed and unexciting but then who's attention span coes past 2 hours these days? I will definitely look up the director's cut as I'll just bet that "the left-outs" would make this epic. Would recommend you also see both!! O, and GREAT SOUNDTRACK!!

Ravi U gave it a3:
I dont know what it is about this movie, but the slow pacing and Braff's acting just seem to drag the movie down. Now, don't get me wrong...I enjoy independent films as much as the next guy, but this film just felt so tedious to get through. I honestly love Braff and Portman in their other projects (Scrubs and Star Wars, respectively) but I felt like there was just some chemistry missing here. I'm sad to say that I can't recommend this movie.

Daniel E. gave it a9:
Despite the unexpected turns and the overall stop and go feel, Zach Braff has managed to produce an amazing film for his directing debut. The eccentricities of his characters and the mundane, everyday events occuring throughout the film only accent the beautiful technique Braff has used to portray a heart-moving tale in an every-day setting. Natalie Portman is amazing, using her experience to fully capture the free-lance and somewhat goofy tendencies of her character. Peter Sarsgaard is no dissapointment, bringing to the table a realism that embraces the overall context of the film. I was excited when I saw the teaser trailer for the first time. And now, as ever, I'm both enthralled and touched every time I see this film. Kudos to Zach.

Nick S. gave it a9:
Really surprised me. I expected it to be good, but I was really blown away. It stands alongside Donnie Darko (and thematically, it's not dissimilar) as one of my favourites films. I very much recommend it.

Garden State Fox Searchlight Pictures / Miramax Films

Garden State
Fox Searchlight Pictures / Miramax Films