Movie: Garden State (6.5 of 10)

6.5 out of 10

Garden State had something for both Jennifer and I -- she had Zach Braff...and I had Natalie Portman. Not a bad deal!

Through his work as Dr. John "J.D." Dorian on NBC's Scrubs, Braff has become a favorite of both of us due over the last couple of years. Garden State is Braff's big screen debut as a lead, and he owns most parts of the project as writer, director, and feature actor.

Portman's performance was highly reminiscent of her character from Beautiful Girls. You couldn't help but wish that she was on the screen for two hours (or, even better, wonder/wish that she happened to live next door to you). She is warm, fearless, and full of a quirky energy. Heck, she is one of the only women to ever blatantly play a Yankee (in Beautiful Girls and Garden State) and come across as loveable!! In this film Portman feels almost as young as she was in Beautiful Girls, which was far too young for Braff's character.

I liked the movie and I'm glad that I saw it. But, I might have been a tad more excited to see it than I was satisfied after I saw it. Initially, I was going to go with a 3.25 Star rating, but the film was unique. Since such a limited peer group exists for intelligent romantic comedies, I felt as though I should bump the rating a little for originality. At least they tried to be different.

This film is not conventional. It is kooky and quircky...but, it was you expect from Zach Braff...which is why we watched, and enjoyed it.

Related Sites:

1. Yahoo!: Garden State Movie Info
2. Rotten Tomatoes: Garden State
3. Zach Braff's Garden State Blog