Garden State

Garden State is a excellent film. Director Zach Braff wrote the screenplay and stars in this small jewel with Natalie Portman, Ian Holm, Jean Smart, and Peter Sarsgaard.  Braff is also the star of the brilliant TV comedy, "Scrubs", as Dr. John Dorian.

There will be some aspects of Garden State that everyone of a certain age will relate to. Coming home after a long absence means re-establishing contact with old friends who never left, and sometimes re-opening old wounds that never heal.

Braff plays Andrew Largeman who comes back to New Jersey from LA to attend his mother's funeral. His father, played by Ian Holm is distant, and there is something seriously wrong in their relationship.

As Andrew rekindles old friendships with various people - a grave digger, a nuveau rich inventor of "silent velcro", and others - he begins to decipher his long-standing misery. Most important to his new outlook is the romance that develops with Sam, played by Natile Portman.

This is film full of surprises, comedy, and tragedy - all of which ring true in the capable hands of this sterling cast.