Garden State (2004)

A quietly troubled young man returns home for his mother's funeral after being estranged from his family for a decade.

Director:

Zach Braff

Writer:

Zach Braff

Stars:

Zach Braff, Kenneth Graymez, Peter Sarsgaard

12 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zach Braff	...	Andrew Largeman
Kenneth Graymez	...	Busboy
George C. Wolfe	...	Restaurant Manager
Austin Lysy	...	Waiter
Gary Gilbert	...	Young Hollywood Guy
Jill Flint	...	Obnoxious Girl
Ian Holm	...	Gideon Largeman
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Mark
Alex Burns	...	Dave
Jackie Hoffman	...	Aunt Sylvia Largeman
Michael Weston	...	Kenny
Christopher Carley	...	Gleason Party Drunk (as Chris Carley)
Armando Riesco	...	Jesse
Amy Ferguson	...	Dana
Trisha LaFache	...	Kelly

Storyline

Andrew Largeman is a semi-successful television actor who plays a retarded quarterback. His somewhat controlling and psychiatrist father has led Andrew ("Large") to believe that his mother's wheelchair bound life was his fault. Andrew decides to lay off the drugs that his father and his doctor made him believe that he needed, and began to see life for what it is. He began to feel the pain he had longed for, and began to have a genuine relationship with a girl who had some problems of her own.

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Plot Keywords:

home | pain | actor | fate | quarterback | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug use and a scene of sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 August 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Large

Filming Locations:

114 North 6th Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£128,366 (UK) (10 December 2004)

Gross:

$26,781,723 (USA) (21 January 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Camelot Pictures, Jersey Films, Double Feature Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Zach Braff drew partially on knowledge from his mother, a psychologist, his stepfather, also a psychologist, and his step mother, a therapist, to give scenes involving mentions of psychiatrics and pharmaceuticals authenticity.

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Goofs

When Andrew walks into his father's bedroom, his father is asleep with his head turned to his right. When the camera pans out to both of them, his father's head is now turned to his left without movement.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Airplane pilot: [voiceover] Los Angeles Tower, this is Transworld 22 Heavy. We are going down! Repeat, engines two and... L.A. Tower, this is... Mayday! Mayday!

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Crazy Credits

Masturbating dog ... Magoo

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Connections

Referenced in Going the Distance (2010)

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Soundtracks

"New Slang"
(2000)
Written by James Mercer
Performed by The Shins
Courtesy of Sub Pop Records

User Reviews

A blooming, Wonderful Garden State!

'Garden State' came out in the Uk on December 10th. I had heard wonderful things about it from friends and relatives in the US - I wasn't disappointed...

From start to finish, the film made me laugh and cry. I thought the opening in which we met Braff lying emotionless in bed. Listening to the answer machine message from his dad about his mother's death was disturbing and really drew me in.

So many memorable moments: The funeral, touching and funny, the party scenes, the scan scene...And as for the dialogue - well, sharp and witty. I don't think I will ever forget Natalie Portman's dancing in her bedroom - just to be 'unique' or Zach Braff's touching comments about what makes a 'home' in the swimming pool.

Even those touching moments were funny; the fact that he couldn't swim!

As a mid twenty-something, This film really spoke to me. It's that question we all dread. We've graduated university, got jobs....then what?

Fantastic...just a shame it is not on wide release here...

One of the best films I have seen in ages!

9/10