One of the stars of C4’s Scrubs, Zach Braff trades in his surgical gown for a writer-director’s chair and raucous comedy for a more poignant yet quirky kind of humour. Actor-waiter Andrew Largeman (Braff) returns home to New Jersey from L.A. to attend his estranged mother’s funeral. There he encounters the old high school gang, including a cop and a millionaire inventor. Others opt for less ambitious pursuits like gravedigging (an excellent Sarsgaard). They still party the same. But Large is too zombied on mood-controlling prescriptions to notice, or feel, anything. Until he ditches the meds and meets a goofy but cute liar (Portman). With a nod to The Graduate, Garden State is a bittersweet voyage of discovery, heading up that unknown highway towards adulthood.
REVIEWs
“One of the best directorial debuts in recent memory – it’s surely only a matter of time until Braff makes the permanent move from small screen to silver. ****” Olly Richards, Empire
“A breakout hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Garden State is The Graduate for Generation Y – or, more fittingly, Generation Why? […] Not so much feel-good as feel-pure, this beautifully acted love story is an invigorating breeze in our sceptical times. Eternal sunshine of the spotless soul, anyone? Capricious and captivating, Zach Braff’s genre-splicing debut nestles deep in the heart. Proof that flawed beauty is quite irresistible. ****” Total Film
Awards
Grammy Awards ’05 – WINNER
– Best Compilation Soundtrack Album (Zach Braff, Compilation Producer)
Sundance Film Festival ’04 nomination
– Grand Jury Prize Dramatic (Zach Braff)
Empire Awards ’05 nomination
– Best Newcomer (Zach Braff)