Review: Garden State

Run, now, to Fifth Avenue theater and watch Garden State. This is easily one of the best films of the year and has lept onto my ten best films of all time. Feeling like a lighter American Beauty (with MUCH less cynicism), Garden State is an excellent take on the "entering adulthood" genre and conveys actual intimacy and feeling through its characters. Natalie Portman and Zach Braff shine in the lead roles they were born to play. Each taking characters with realistic and human quirks, they make us believe that life is more than something we just pass through. I left the theater with the urge to do something with my life and enjoy myself rather than sit numbly through existance.

Braff not only starred, but wrote and directed this film which I would highly recommend to anyone. His sense of comic timing and visual layout is a sign of a wonderful career. I can't wait for his next picture. Maybe I should watch Scrubs more often...