Braff clearly loves these characters, and his enthusiasm for them ultimately carries the day.
Comment
08/19/04
Garden State (2004)
86
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:181
Fresh:155
Rotten:26
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: Charmingly warm-hearted and quirky.
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Andrew Largeman (Zach 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. A moderately successful TV actor... [More]
Starring: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Ian Holm, Peter Sarsgaard
Director: Zach Braff
Reviews for Garden State
[Braff] does more than knock it out of the park -- this one reaches all the way to the county line.
08/19/04
This may make me some sort of traitor to my generation, but I found Garden State—the auteur debut of TV star Zach Braff...—to be a derivative vanity project.
08/19/04
Deadpan, melancholy, and slightly absurd, like Donnie Darko, or Igby Goes Down
08/18/04
[Its] closest cousin is The Graduate, which also discovered beauty in the cognitive disconnect between the things we see and the things we logically expect.
08/18/04
A sublime and sophisticated debut from writer/director/star Zack Braff, this year's Lost in Translation with Newark, NJ standing in for Tokyo.
08/18/04
Somewhat of a "Harold and Maude" updated. We could use more films with this kind of spirit.
08/17/04
It may not end up making the generational statement it’s grasping for, but it is a thoughtful and eccentric movie that’ll win audiences and hearts with refreshing honesty.
08/16/04
Garden State is the quintessential “first film” from a young director: it’s packed to the gills with overreaching themes and relentless style.
08/16/04
The whole is not even as great as the sum of its quirky parts.
08/14/04
His movie is sweet-natured and skillful, but its biggest problem is perhaps one Braff wasn't prepared to deal with: his own performance -- or, more accurately, the decision to place a deliberately flat performance at the film's heart.
08/13/04
It's rare for a movie to have so many blooming surprises.
08/13/04
A charming, funny, melancholy ode to twentysomething angst.
08/13/04
Garden State may not define an entire generation, but it has a sharp eye for the passive aimlessness that can take hold when young adults realize there's no handbook on how to find purpose and meaning in life.
08/13/04
The best parts of this droll, quietly witty drama have the ring of truth.
08/13/04
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.
08/13/04
Achingly alive, beautifully written first feature.
08/13/04
Boring and nothing happens. I didn't laugh once.
08/13/04
Braff takes the mundanity that surrounds Andrew and turns it into something artfully absurd...
08/13/04
It's like a perfect pop song -- that thing that makes you smile and tear up at the same time.
08/13/04
Latest News for Garden State
May 10, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: "28 Weeks Later" and "Georgia Rule" To Battle For #2 Spot
In what must be a first at the box office, an aerobics queen takes on killer zombies in a vicious battle for the silver medal during what no doubt will be another mammoth... More...
August 31, 2006:
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The summer movie season comes to an official end with the Labor Day holiday weekend unleashing three new releases plus the national expansion of a fourth. More...
August 14, 2006:
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Despite a pair of newcomers close behind in its rearview mirror, Will Ferrell's hit comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby finished in first place for the second... More...
March 02, 2006:
Dr. Dorian Prepares for "Open Hearts"
"Scrubs" star Zach Braff, who made quite the impression with his debut movie, "Garden State," has chosen his second directorial project: a remake of the 2003... More...
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