Garden State
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Amy Ferguson, Gary Gilbert, Jill Flint, Natalie Portman, Zach BraffBrand: FOX Home Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
Published: 2004-12-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-12-28
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of Garden State
Movie Review: Proves That The Real State Is More Than Just A Few Exits
Summary: 5 Stars
Zach Braff seemed, to me at least, to be a good actor. He is funny every week in NBC's "Scrubs", and even on that show when he needed to spread his dramatic wings, he was good. That is why I wanted to check out "Garden State", written and directed by Braff. When it was released late in the summer, it recieved raves by critics and did relatively well at the box office. I held off on seeing this movie because I didn't know what was waiting for me, but when I finally did see it, earlier tonight, it opened my eyes and made me realize that the real Garden State was more than just a couple exits off a highway. The only thing that stops me from adoring "Garden State" (although I still love it and liked it more than I thought I would going into it) is that there is too little humor. And another problem is that too much of the humor is vulgar. Take, for instance, a scene were a seeing eye dog humps Braff's leg insesintly, while someone tells him to "kick it in the balls". Or in a nother scene with a masturbating dog. Don't ask. There is also way too much drug use in one scene, at one point becoming surreal. I liked this movie though, and think that it deserved the critical raves. The people I saw it with, however, liked it less that I did, saying that it was too depressing. I thought that the seriocomic bits were great, and the end was a real "perker-upper". I think that, in my overall opinion, Braff is with a rare breed of directors, two actually, Wes Anderson and, of course, Braff, that can say more in a single image than any other director can say in a whole film. I actually tried to go see this in the theaters, but it was sold out, so I bought tickets to something like "Catwoman" or some other trash, and snuck into this. But, alas, people are not permitted to sit in aisles, so I went to go see "The Bourne Supremacy" for a second time. Anywho, that aside, I rented this as soon as I possibly could, and enjoyed it immensly. I like independant movies more than mainstream movies, for instance, I enjoyed "Sideways" more than "The Incredible's". I enjoyed "The Life Aquatic" more than the "Alfie" remake (although "Alfie was still really cute). I hearted "Huckabees" over "Ladder 49", and this movie over most mainstream stuff. But I have to mention my guilty mainstream pleasures: "Phantom of the Opera", "Meet the Fockers", "National Treasure", "Spongebob Sqarepants", and "Spanglish". But that was all a complete and utterly random sidetrack.
The plot revolves around Andrew "Large" Largeman (Braff), an actor best known for a role as a retarded football player, and deamed "New Jersey's Deniro". He goes back to his native New Jersey for his mothers funeral, after she drowned in a bathtub. He's had somewhat of a screwed up childhood, in that he crippled his mother. His father, a psychiatrist has had Large on medication since the age of nine, and this affects Large's life because he isn't as "responsive". But then again, maybe it's all that X he keeps dropping. But, on his journey back, he catches up with his old friend Mark (Peter Sarsgaard), meets kindly liar Samanthat (Natalie Portman), and does some crack. Mark's mom, Cathy (Jean Smart) is dating a knight from MedevilWorld, much to Mark's chagrine. Large and Sam get involved in a decieving but sweet romance, doing little things together that show how they really want each other, but aren't ready for the commitment.
Portman and Sarsgaard are both hilarious, as is Braff, and if you look really close at some of the scenes, it almost looks like they're real friends just talking with a video camera aimed at them. And if you really take notice to the scene where Large and Sam bury Sam's hamster, that is where that image thing comes into play. I enjoyed this movie immensly and thought that it deserved a larger audience in the theaters, and hopefully it will get that audience on video and DVD. Unfortuanately, it was released on the same day as "Open Water" (1 star), "Anchorman" (5 stars), and "Wimbledon" (4 stars). But, if you take the time to watch this charming, wonderful film, you will see why everyone is taking a trip to "The Garden State".
Running Time: 102 Minutes
MPAA Rating: R For Language (Strong in the first act, but tame afterwards), Strong Drug Use And Content, A Scene Of Sexuality, Nudity, A Plane Crash Dream, Deer Attacked By Crocidile On TV in Briefly Bloody Moment, Much Talk Of Drug Overdose, Dying, and Suicide, And Some Drinking And Regular Smoking
Summary of Garden State
GARDEN STATE - DVD MovieZach Braff (from the TV show Scrubs) stars in his writing/directing debut, Garden State--normally a doomed act of hubris, but Braff pulls it off with unassuming charm. An emotionally numb actor in L.A., Andrew (Braff) comes back to New Jersey after nine years away for his mother's funeral. Andrew avoids his bitter father (Ian Holm, The Sweet Hereafter) and joins old friends (including the superb Peter Sarsgaard, Boys Don't Cry) in a round of parties. Along the way he meets a girl (Natalie Portman, Beautiful Girls) with demons of her own; bit by bit the two offer each other a little healing. Plotwise, Garden State is familiar stuff, a cross between The Graduate and a Meg Ryan movie, but Braff has an eye for goofy but resonant visual images, an ear for lively dialogue, and a great cast. The result is surprisingly fresh and funny. --Bret Fetzer
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