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, Peter Sarsgaard, Natalie Portman

13 wins & 38 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 an intellectually disabled 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:

funeral | home | actor | pills | implied sex | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam's dead hamster, Jelly, was a real taxidermied hamster.

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Goofs

When Andrew sees the doctor for the first time, he is wearing glasses which he takes off and put back on again. However in the next shot they are gone, and he puts them back on again (again).

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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

Special thanks to Anfang Family, Snyder Family, Randazzo Family, Definis Family, Trojan Family, Weiss Family.

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Alternate Versions

Although the film was shot in the Super 35 process, the VHS version entirely Pans and Scans throughout the entire film as if it were shot in Anamorphic Widescreen instead of properly framing it for Full Frame as most Super 35 films are.

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Connections

Referenced in Veronica Mars: Show Me the Monkey (2007)

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Soundtracks

Lebanese Blonde
Written by Rob Garza and Eric Hilton
Performed by Thievery Corporation
Courtesy of ESL Music

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Klingon

Release Date:

6 August 2004 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Garden State

Filming Locations:

97 Mill Road, Morris Plains, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$201,115, 1 August 2004

Gross USA:

$26,782,316

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$35,825,316

Company Credits

Production Co:

Camelot Pictures, Jersey Films, Double Feature Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital Dolby Digital (5.1: Spanish) Dolby Digital (as Dolby Surround 2.0: Audio Described English) Dolby Digital (5.1: English) Dolby Digital (5.1: Portuguese)

Color:

Color Color (NTSC Color) Color (PAL)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1