Garden State

A minor and agreeable cult film that was actually popular from the moment it was made. It has all the aspects that a film needs for me to fall in love with it – likable people in the lead roles, an amazing soundtrack, and a story you can very easily find yourself in. Still, it is precisely the confessional feel emanating from Garden State that ultimately put me off. Yes, I can imagine myself as Andrew, who can express his love for the enchanting Natalie Portman after just four days, but wandering through the roots of the past and the twists and turns of one's own soul remains far beyond pleasant credibility. And besides, the script played its cards in such a way that, in the end, it is almost irrelevant what decisions anyone makes because surprises no longer occur in these kinds of situations nowadays. (26/06/2005)

In the first scene of the film, the protagonist is sitting in an airplane that obviously found itself in serious trouble, and we are watching terrified passengers who are putting on oxygen masks and, unlike the protagonist, are struggling to cope with mounting panic. This scene builds up anticipation for an emotional spectacle, but in the following moments, the creators set a completely different tone and we observe a typical festival production about how a teenage hero deals with traumas from his childhood and searches for his place in life. It could have been really interesting if I didn't get the feeling that these emotions are somehow artificial and the protagonist, just like the whole film, is under sedatives. In my opinion, the screenwriter, as well as the whole crew, were also under the influence of calming substances. I don't believe in the dialogues of the film characters and their emotions, and the film seems to me like a pleasingly calculated affair for the festival jury at the Sundance Film Festival. Overall impression: 40%. (04/09/2010)

In my quest to find a good comedy, I came across this piece. Disappointing is probably an understatement, since I didn't laugh once the entire time. I probably have a different sense of humor, but that's not the only problem. The plot is uninteresting. I strongly dislike the cast, except for Natalie, and Zach Braff has hereby placed himself in the category of actors I don't like. It comes across as terribly disjointed and as a result I'm depressed. 1.5 stars ... one for Natalie Portman and the other half for effort. (11/12/2011)

At first Garden State may seem like "just another movie about parties, drugs, and sex", but once Natalie enters the scene, the whole film starts transitioning into the beautiful bittersweet vein, occasionally teetering on the edge of drama (but only slightly), delights with its great music, and completely breaks out of the traditional concept of a romantic film. While there are quite a few films on the theme of "rediscovering yourself", Garden State holds a special place for me – if only because it warmed my heart beautifully without feeling calculated. (16/01/2011)

Zach Braff strays into Kevin Smith’s sovereign territory - New Jersey. And things go quite ok for him there. Garden State awakens from the somewhat subdued mood when Sam, played wonderfully by Natalie Portman, bursts onto the scene. At that moment the picture grabs onto you whole and doesn’t let go of you until the end. What slightly damages its assets is the unimpressive introduction and the occasionally overly forced “weirdness". Instead of it being used sparingly to spice up the overall atmosphere, it appears all over the place and sometimes it is annoying to the point of being counterproductive because draws you needlessly away from the characters. Zach Braff comes out of this movie as a better director than actor. He isn’t outright bad, but he lacks charisma, although he has a certain aura of likableness about him. Despite the above, Garden State is a feature-length directing debt that is worth watching. (10/08/2007)