Review of Garden State (2004) by Tyler M — 31 Mar 2012
Just you're garden variety drama...
I had high hopes for Garden State. But it's marred by mediocre acting, and mediocre story. The sad parts aren't always as sad as they could be, and the jokes aren't always as funny as they should be.
The story: When a struggling actor comes home for his mothers funeral he meets new and old friends, and confronts a cold and heartless father. Also, while he's home, he meets a young a girl and falls in love with her...That's pretty much it...It's not anything too original or spectacular...
The Cast: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman... Outside of this movie, I think that these two are great actors. I think Braff does great on Scrubs, which is why I was a little let down by his somewhat stale performance. He seems to lack the same emotion that he shows in Scrubs. Makes me kinda wonder if maybe he just had a little too much on his plate, between the writing, acting and directing. After all he is "no superman" (That's a scrubs joke if you didn't know). Natalie Portman shines only a little more than Braff in this one, playing the goofy happy-go-lucky girl. She plays the part good, and I can honestly say that she gives the best performance of the film. The rest of the cast gives equally fair performances.
One to five scale: 3.
Stale writing, stale performances, forgettable story, and forgettable characters...I know I've focused on the bad things and there isn't much good in the review. But all things aside if you're in need of a drama, this is worth a rental. Not so much for Braffs performance, or the story but for Natalie Portman. She carries this from a two and holds it steady at a three.
Tyler.
6/21/2005.
This review of Garden State (2004) was written by Tyler M on 31 Mar 2012.
Garden State has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
