Keep driving past The Village and into the Garden State.

For the first time in my life, I feel like a real film reviewer ( I don't like the word critic - too harsh). Tonight I had the priveledge of attending a free (no - I was not stealthy, it was legit) advanced screening of Garden State. Garden State is the first gem of a movie written and directed by the completely adorable Zach Braff. Zach also starred in the film. Can we say multi-tasker extraordinaire?

He WAS most famous for Scrubs - that filler show on NBC that was on between Friends and Will and Grace. Not anymore folks. This man is going to be Hollywood's next IT man. You read it here. Maybe you read it some other places as well, but you still read it here.

Garden State proves my theory about families where one or both of the parents are psychiatrists. Didn't you have one of those friends in high school who's father was a psychiatrist? I did. That family was really bizarre. Zombie like (check out the 28 Days Later review for more on zombies). In Garden State, Andrew Largeman's (Zach) father is a psychiatrist. Large (as he's called in the film) is an aspiring actor in LA who has not returned to New Jersey in nine years. Reason being, surprise, surprise, his parents are screwed-up. Unfortunately, Large's mother dies and Large returns to the land of Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and toxic waste. No wonder he stayed in Cali for nine years.

We discover that Large has been on all sorts of anti-psychotic medicine, sleep aids and painkillers since he was nine. He has not had a feeling in 16 years! Once he returns to NJ, he drops his meds cold-turkey style. No lithium patch for him. As the film unfolds, Zach's character metamorphosis (?) from a zombie like figure (funny, Fox Searchlight did 28 Days Later as well - the recurring zombie thing) to a feeling human being (who happens to have feelings for Natalie Portman's quirky character, Sam).

The aforementioned plot summary would lead one to question the comedy genre of this film. Would a drama make fun of Corky from Life Goes On? Would a drama have great lines like "I hope we didn't run around for five hours to find crack whores huffing turpentine" ? Would a drama have a seeing-eye dog hump someone's leg in a waiting room? Or a dead hamster in the late stages of rigormortis? Or make fun of Sally Struthers? NO! Sure there are dramatic aspects to the film, but I laughed my arse off WHILE I was inspired to be more vulnerable. Cool things seem to happen to vulnerable people - at least in the movies.

And then there is the soundtrack.... which comes out August 10th (but you can order your copy now on amazon.com).

Since this in an indie film, check the dates on the following website to see when it is coming to a theatre near you:
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/gardenstate/gs_072604.pdf
I like spreading the indie movie word.

FILM VIEWING PROTOCOL
This is a date film and a friend film. It is definitely worth seeing it in the theatre. Consider this film your movie Prozac (especially if you saw The Village).
I recommend eating converastional hearts - especially those that say "You're Neat" or "Be Mine". They make you feel good. Although, they could be stale if you've had them since February (and difficult to find, I'm sure). I recommend the other feel good snack food - chocolate. It it triggers endorphines in your body (at least in us women) that make you feel good. I would also recommend red wine for the same reasons. Even though they don't sell that in theatres yet, I'm sure it won't be long before they find a way. Otherwise, as the old saying goes, have a Coke and a smile.
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