Garden State: An Independent Uniquely Original Coming of Age Story

"Garden State" is the directorial debut of popular actor Zach Braff, who is best known for his leading role on the hit show "Scrubs." Most of this script was written by Braff while he was in college, and the story is interesting in that it does not follow the traditional three act structure that most movies have in place.

"Garden State" is about Andrew Largeman, a struggling actor who is heavily medicated and has gone through life on one type of medication to keep him calm for his entire adult life, and even most of his teenage years. Estranged from his family for over a decade, he comes home during his father's funeral, wonders about his state of mind as he doesn't feel anything at her death, and about a conflict with his father that his father is emotional about, but he needs to have the drugs wear off on him before he feels a thing.

At home Largeman is surprised to find so many old acquaintances, to see their lives change, yet realize for all the changes so much is still the same. He meets a girl, Sam, played by Natalie Portman, who is a compulsive liar, but befriends him and helps him along on his strange and emotional journey as the medicine wears off and he has to deal with emotions, his feelings, and his past for the first time.

This is a movie that is very dramatic, and a very far cry from "Scrubs," though it has its moments of laugh out loud humor, whether it's waking up to see a fully armored knight walking by with a gallon of milk, or the situation that invokes the very quotable line of "Pun intended?" Zach Braff drops us into a world where Largeman has to learn to deal with emotions and life for the first time while falling in love and learning that it's okay to be dysfunctional, as long as you know how to make the most out of what life has handed you.

This is a very interesting movie with strange characters, strange places, and a heart warming journey that is both lovely and tragic. It is a strong drama that finds the mystical in the common places and yet keeps the viewers along on a journey that is always strange yet familiar. This is a great writing and directorial debut, and promises a bright future beyond the comedy of "Scrubs" for this young actor.