garden state
2004
written and directed by zach braff
zach braff, natalie portman, peter sarsgaard, method man

yes, i know ive already posted this picture before, but it wasnt really relevant to the post. this time, thats not the case. get over it.

the first time i viewed this film, i held hands with a pretty blonde girl curled up under a blanket on the futon in my dorm room at school. that made me feel good, enough to not pay as much attention as i should have.

zach braff seems like the kind of guy that he plays on tv and in this movie. the cool, calm everyman who is looking for what any of us is looking for and feels the same kinds of things we feel. even when he got punk'd, zach never really pulled the omg im a hollywood star how could you embarass me on national tv routine, but instead he was pissed cuz he buddy donald faison got him good and it was funny.

zach is the kind of guy you could go out and have a few beers with, and by the fourth or fifth one you would think that hes one of the guys, and forget that hes actually a big hollywood actor slash director slash writer slash power that be.

this movie is at its heart a love story. its hard to see that til the very very end though, because braff and natalie portman's characters are so unique and so quirky that i paid more attention to them and trying to figure them out instead of their interaction with each other and their blossoming love. awww how cute.

dont be fooled, though. it is the interactions that drive this movie. largemann has to go home again, and dealing with the estrangment of his former home is half the film by itself. large also deals with his own character flaws, like dealing with his mothers death, wondering if he really is crazy, and coming out from underneath his fathers clout. even while hes mixed up in all of this internal conflict, he still is able to meet sam, who is just as fucked up in the head as he is, and they going along the path of enlightenment together.

oh, and method man's cameo is the coolest low key apperance ever.

two thumbs up.

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