Garden State: Critic Reviews

It's to Braff's credit as a first-time filmmaker with a suburban- laughing-boy soul that his story is as warm and unforced as it is.

Zach Braff's small, smart, off-kilter comedy is too self-conscious by half, but its struggle to revitalize a cliche; by turning it inside out is a worthy one.

Poignantly portrays a detached man who decides to tackle life -- with all its pain, joys and everything in between -- with his eyes open and his head clear.

Features some wonderful performances, chief among them an engaging, even courageous turn from Natalie Portman.

There is a little unevenness. But for a directorial debut, it's amazingly assured.

A standard issue, first-movie navel-gaze whose cobwebs Braff meticulously sweeps away by directing the bejesus out of it.

Stormy twentysomething emotions seethe under a deft quirkfest.

It offers something rare in the bond between Andrew and Sam. Their connection follows a believable arc from their first awkward encounter to a specific, believable intimacy, without which the movie's jokiness could have rung hollow.

The best parts of this droll, quietly witty drama have the ring of truth.

A little gem of a film full of believably offbeat characters and eclectic mood music.

Achingly alive, beautifully written first feature.

It's smart and unconventional, with a good eye for the perfect detail.

Braff, now a proven triple-threat, is blessed with his own comic chops, an eye for the small details of regular life and a simple, straightforward directorial style.

Garden State, Zach Braff's lyrical directorial debut, self-consciously announces itself as a baby buster generational marker -- and richly deserves the designation.

It takes the comic-drama Garden State awhile to take root, but then it quickly grows on you.

The kind of movie that reminds you why you love movies so much, a film so filled with unexpected energy and ambition and sly intelligence it gives you hope for the future.

This comedy works so diligently at being idiosyncratic, it comes off as artificial and forced.

Mr. Braff, Ms. Portman, Mr. Sarsgaard and Mr. Holm never strike a false note as a remarkably coherent acting ensemble, and it is good to see Ron Leibman again in the small role of Doctor Cohen.

Feels too piecemeal and ultimately inconsequential to grab the public where it counts.

Braff proves himself a master of modulation, keeping a sure grip as the film's tone shifts like quicksand from humor to pathos and back.

Cleverly written, sensitively directed and very well-acted.

It steals shamelessly from The Graduate without indicating a whit of appreciation for the earlier film.

One of the smarter examples of the form.

Braff, and Garden State, give it the old college try, and at least some, if not all, of the sparks catch.

It's a forgettable film featuring a throw-away story with unmemorable characters and unremarkable performances.