I usually receive several DVDs all at once to review, some of which are right up my alley (action & horror flicks), and some of which I have no personal interest whatsoever, like Garden State ...even the cover screams "another independent gen-X film," the kind that plays theatrically in art houses near college campuses. Yuk. I'll be the first to admit I love the big, dumb & violent mega-budget crap that passes for entertainment, even when it sucks (the bad ones are usually more fun to write about). I usually put off discs like Garden State until last, finally popping them into my player more out of obligation than interest. I'd read lots reviews and knew it was a critics' darling, but I also knew The Sound and the Fury was an American classic when forced to read it in college, and agreed with all the reasons it's considered such, but it still bored the shit out of me. Anyway, I was fully prepared to agree with critics that the direction and performances are outstanding (which they are), that it's a perceptive study of directionless twentysomethings coming-of-age (which it is), and that the screenplay & dialogue are smart, witty and somewhat metaphoric (ditto). But I didn't expect to personally enjoy it as much as I did. I liked this movie...a lot .

Garden State doesn't really have a story per se , but it does have a lot to say about the people in it. Zach Braff (who also wrote & directed) plays Andrew Largeman ("Large" to his friends), an emotionally aloof struggling actor who returns to New Jersey after nine years when his mother dies. He and his father (Ian Holm) have been estranged for quite some time, and Large spends most of his time hooking up with his old friends, many of whom have done little with their own lives since he left; they still get together on weekends to party and get wasted. His best friend, Mark (Peter Sarsgaard), works as a grave digger, and helped bury Large's mother. Most of these folks have big dreams that never materialize. Large spends a lot of time with them, mainly to avoid confronting his dad about assessing their relationship (a tragedy in their past, in which Large may or may not have been responsible for an accident which left his mom paralyzed), not because he feels intimidated by his dad...he's been so emotionally detached from everything for so long he doesn't know how to respond to people anymore (due in part to the prescription drugs his psychologist dad started him on years earlier). Then he meets Sam (Natalie Portman), a quirky, unusual girl who has some problems of her own (she's a chronic liar and an epileptic), and hails from a family who seem a lot more weird & flaky than Large's, but are also much happier and affectionate. She eventually brings out emotions in Large he didn't think he was capable of feeling, and the two are soon inseparable (though their friendship is mostly platonic throughout the picture). Garden State is a movie I loved hailing from a genre I detest...maybe part of the reason is that the movie doesn't really fall into a particular genre. Yeah, it's got elements of romantic comedy (though not in the traditional sense), as well as the typical, coming-of-age, finding-one's-self theme independent filmmakers seem to never tire of, but those plot details are often merely devices on which to hang several individual (often hilarious) set-pieces involving the characters in the movie. Sometimes these scenes (such as a very funny morning-after breakfast conversation between Large, Mark, Mark's mom & their buddy who slept with her) exist for their own sake, while others (Mark's unique method of earning extra cash at a hardware store) lead to some of the movie's great emotional pay-offs. There are a few moments where the symbolism is a bit heavy-handed, and the movie's outcome is sort of predictable, but the movie offers a lot unexpected fun, mainly because we really like hanging around these people. These characters are extremely well-rounded & likable, and brilliantly performed by the entire cast. While I've always thought Portman was a decent actor, she's absolutely terrific here, bringing a quirky charm and subtlety to a role which could prompt one to overact. I was equally impressed with Sarsgaard, who's the local stoner only on the surface - we get just a few glimpses of the guy underneath that persona, but when we do, we fall in love with that character. As for Braff... he's outstanding as writer, director and star. He knows his character is the anchor on which the movie hangs, but is smart enough to know when to hand certain scenes over to other characters and let them run with it. Garden State may be many things, but it's definitely not a vanity project.

The picture and sound quality of the disc is excellent. The movie is presented in it's original 2:35:1 widescreen aspect ratio, making the most of Lawrence Sher's outstanding cinematography. There's also nary a blemish or scratch to be found. The soundtrack, rendered in 5.1 Dolby Surround, is good too, though maybe just a little out of balance (the songs from the soundtrack seem to register much louder than the dialogue in some scenes, but that's a minor quip).

There's a full-length audio commentary by Braff & Portman, and another by Sher, editor Myron Kerstein & production designer Judy Becker. The former is the better of the two, since Braff wrote, starred & directed, but the latter offers a lot of great info, too, since the look of the film contributes greatly to its overall emotional impact. Also included is a terrific behind-the-scenes featurette, 16 deleted scenes (which are nearly as interesting as those left in the movie), and a blooper reel. Similar Movies: The Big Chill; American Graffiti

If you're like me, Garden State is one of those titles you wouldn't give a second thought to while frequenting your local Blockbuster, so I guess this review is one you guys. This movie is definitely worth seeing, probably more than once. It's poignant, insightful and often very, very funny. And Braff deserves an Oscar nomination in at least one of the categories in which he's involved in making this.