The Homecoming King

In 2004 Zach Braff (who shot to fame in the NBC sitcom Scrubs) unleashed his directorial debut on the world. Garden State, which also stars Nathalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard and Sir Ian Holm was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards.

The story goes as followed: Andrew Largeman (Braff) returns to his hometown in New Jersey for the first time in nine years, after receiving word from his father (Holm) that his mother has died. Busy avoiding his father, he visits some old friends and makes some peculiar new ones at the doctor’s office of all places. While he’s reconnecting with the past he also finds something he lost a long time ago, namely himself.

This is a charmingly warm-hearted and quirky movie (you might have noticed I kinda have a soft spot for movies with a perfect mix of melancholy madness and heartwarming humor). It is all relatively standard stuff at first glance, but much of the zing of the movie comes from the wobbly curve balls that Braff throws at the formula. As writer-director he never stops telling us a tale that's true at it’s core and surprisingly unself-conscious. You have to be ambitious to direct yourself in the first movie you've ever directed but despite this, his motivation feels genuine meaning that he wanted to make a movie because he actually had something to say instead of just wanting to spread his name around as a career move.
Portman (as his newly found friend Sam) is vibrant and lovely. Her performance is relaxed and giddy, but there's also an edge of sorrow to it. She is an overjoyed epileptic and compulsory liar who is Braff’s opposite. Her warm, fearless and explosive nature complement his level, pessimistic and sedated self. And eventually makes him realise that good or bad, life is still worth living to fullest. Braff also captures a sense of coming home to a place you once loved and realizing, in spite of any lingering fondness you may have for it, that it's no longer the spot for you. Home is a place you create yourself.
OK, there are a few cliches : the return of the prodigal son mixed with your average coming-of-age tale but, injected with unexpected depth and grace. Sometimes the story might get a little too cute but overall it is a hidden treasure well worth the dig.

The music that accompanied the film was hand-picked by Zach Braff. The songs, in my opinion, exemplified the emotional subtleties of the film perfectly. He rightfully accepted a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Zach Braff shows genuine talent with his smart, perceptive and funny film debut. In the end you can’t deny that Garden State is a great movie full of bizarre wit and winning moments, laden with excellent performances and a superb soundtrack to boot.