Garden State
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Zach Braff
Produced by	Michael Shamberg Stacey Sher Danny DeVito
Written by	Zach Braff
Starring	Zach Braff Natalie Portman Peter Sarsgaard Jackie Hoffman Ian Holm
Music by	Alexi Murdoch Chad Fischer
Cinematography	Lawrence Sher
Editing by	Myron I. Kerstein
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight
Release date(s)	July 28, 2004
Running time	102 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$2.5 million
Gross revenue	$26.7 million (USA)
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Garden State is a 2004 film written, directed by and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard and co-starring Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman (Braff), a 26-year-old actor/waiter who 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. He reconnects with his friend Mark (Sarsgaard), now a gravedigger and a graverobber, at his mother's funeral. Largeman gets reacquainted with other old friends, all the time avoiding his father. While in the waiting room of a doctor's office, Largeman meets a local girl, Sam (Portman), and the two cautiously initiate a relationship. Download high resolution version (443x655, 62 KB)Poster for the film Garden State. ... Zachary Israel Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an American television and film actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. ... Michael Shamberg, formerly a Time-Life correspondent, is now a film producer. ... Stacey Sher is a film producer. ... Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. ... Natalie Portman (‎; born June 9, 1981) is a Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award-nominated Israeli-American actress. ... Peter Sarsgaard (born March 7, 1971) is a Golden Globe Award-nominated American film and stage actor. ... Jackie Hoffman (born November 11, 1960) is an American Jewish actress and stand-up comedian best known for her facially-contorting expresions, one-woman shows and rancorous comedy that often focuses on Jewish themes. ... Sir Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm CBE (born 12 September 1931), born as Ian Holm Cuthbert, is an English actor. ... Alexi Murdoch (* 27 December 1973) is a London-born, Scottish-bred, singer-songwriter. ... Fox Searchlight Pictures is the specialty films division of Twentieth Century Fox. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... USD redirects here. ... USD redirects here. ... The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. ... Zachary Israel Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an American television and film actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. ... Natalie Portman (‎; born June 9, 1981) is a Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award-nominated Israeli-American actress. ... Peter Sarsgaard (born March 7, 1971) is a Golden Globe Award-nominated American film and stage actor. ... Sir Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm CBE (born 12 September 1931), born as Ian Holm Cuthbert, is an English actor. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Look up Gravedigger in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Grave robbing is the act of uncovering a tomb to steal the artifacts inside or disinterring a corpse to steal the body or its effects. ...

It was filmed over 25 days in April and May 2003 and released on July 28, 2004. The main setting and primary shooting location was New Jersey.^[1] It was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. The film won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards. The film contains many allusions to the similar coming of age film The Graduate (1967), most notably the opening airplane scene that both pictures share. is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival in the state of Utah in the United States. ... Founded in 1984, the Independent Spirit Awards were originally known as the FINDIE (Friends of Independents) Awards and presented winners with Plexiglas pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. ... For the novel of the same name, see The Graduate (novel). ...

Garden State was well received, and is considered a major success for Scrubs actor Zach Braff as it was his feature film debut as a director. The film connected with twentysomethings who felt that Braff's film was speaking to them personally.^[2] Lacking the publicity machine of most mainstream Hollywood films, it generated a devoted fan base from people who read and responded to Braff's blog on the film's official site. Fans drove hours to see the film and saw it repeatedly in theaters.^[2] The film also spawned a popular soundtrack for which Braff, who picked the music himself, won a Grammy award. For other uses, see Scrub. ... Garden State is the soundtrack album to the film Garden State. ... Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music...

Overview

Synopsis

California waiter/actor Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) receives a call from his psychiatrist father (Ian Holm), learning that his paraplegic mother has died. After nine years, Andrew returns home to New Jersey for the funeral and the life he thought he had left behind. Largeman befriends an unusual girl, Sam (Natalie Portman), who happens to be his polar opposite, and reconnects with his gravedigging best friend (Peter Sarsgaard), his father, and eventually himself. Paraplegia is a condition where the lower half of a patients body is paralyzed and cannot move. ...

Summary

Andrew Largeman wakes up from a bizarre nightmare to a telephone message from his father, telling Andrew that he needs to return home because his mother has just died.

The struggling actor leaves Los Angeles and returns home to the state of New Jersey to attend his mother's funeral. He recognizes the gravediggers as old friends, and they invite him to a party that night. At home, Andrew has his father book a doctor's appointment for headaches he's been having. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ...

The morning after the party, Andrew proceeds to his doctor's appointment, meeting a girl named Sam in the waiting room. In Andrew's meeting with his doctor, it's revealed that Andrew has been on an anti-depressant but has stopped taking it. Andrew finds Sam outside of the office, eventually offering her a ride home. Andrew is invited into Sam's house, and meets her family. After returning home, Andrew is confronted by his father, who is insistent that they have a talk before Andrew leaves town.

Andrew instead returns to Sam's house, and the two spent time in a bar until they are interrupted by friends who entreat the two to join them in a pool at a mansion of one of the group. Afterward at the fireplace, Andrew reveals to Sam and friends why he was sent to boarding school during his youth, telling the story of his being partially responsible for an accident that paralyzed his mother. When Sam and Andrew are left alone, Andrew tells Sam he likes her.

The next day, one of Andrew's friends, Mark, tells Andrew that he would be tracking down a going away present for him, but needs him (and his bike) as a means of transport to get it. Sam accompanies them on their trip. Following stops at a hardware store and seedy hotel, the trio end up at a colorful quarry in Newark. Rain starts to pour down; Mark then leads the group to a little houseboat stationed on the top of the quarry. The inhabitants, who have been employed to watch the area, are also casual antique jewelry dealers. After Mark gets Andrew's present, all three begin to head back, but Andrew impulsively and exuberantly screams down into the quarry and Sam and Mark join in. Sam and Andrew then kiss each other. When they reach his home, Mark hands Andrew the gift, which turns out to be his mother's old favorite piece of jewelry. Andrew and Sam retreat to his house, where they have sex and spend the night together. Andrew gets up out of bed and approaches his father to finally have the talk his father had suggested. For other uses, see Quarry (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Map of Newark in Essex County Coordinates: , Country State County Essex Founded/Incorporated 1666/1836 Government  - Mayor Cory Booker, term of office 2006–2010 Area [1]  - Total 26. ... For other uses, see Antique (disambiguation). ...

The morning after, Andrew says his goodbyes to Sam at the airport and leaves for his plane that will take him back to his life in Los Angeles. Andrew unexpectedly returns, telling Sam that he doesn't want to waste any more of his life without her in it.

Themes

After almost a decade of mental isolation, Andrew Largeman is about to embark upon a once in a lifetime journey. His father has been “protecting” him from his own feelings with pills, namely lithium, which are seen “as the symbolic soul-destroying enemy”^[3]. The true adventure of the film begins after Largeman reaches his hometown and conveniently forgets his pills back in California. As he talks to a neurologist, who offers him a refill prescription of his mind-numbing medications, Largeman tells of headaches that he is now encountering without his pills. Largeman says that these headaches are better described as lightning storms. These mind storms are intriguing as they are the seedlings of feeling that have since been absent from his inner being. Following suite of the themes awakening and chance, Largeman refuses a refill of internal seclusion. Zach Braff describes the themes of the movie as, “[l]ove, for lack of a better term. And it’s a movie about awakening. It’s a movie about taking action. It’s a movie about how life is short, go for it now. My character says, ‘I’m 26 years old and I’ve spent my whole life waiting for something else to start. Now I realize that this is all there is and I’m going to try to live my life like that’”^[4].

In order for Largeman to get to a point of self-realization, he needs the assistance of the eccentric character, Sam. Sam forces him to revive the fundamental aspects of life that he has repressed since his father began dictating his life into a prescription-guided haze. “I have this theory that your body goes through puberty in its teens, and the mind goes through puberty in your twenties,” he says. “[Large] is dealing with issues that you are going through all the time going into your thirties,” he says of his character. “He’s lost and lonesome which is something I definitely felt in my twenties”^[5]. Upon their meeting, Sam and Andrew find themselves in Sam’s room wherein she insists on him performing a unique act. She says that it is important to be the first and only person to do something; a unique movement or sound. To procure such an act is essential for living in the moment.

There is then the monumental scene overlooking the abyss. The scene is one of rebirth. The concept of the infinite abyss is what our lives are all about. This moment, with the rain pouring down upon Andrew, Sam, and Mark, is reminiscent of a baptism as their former selves are renewed.^[6] Our inner selves are always striving for it; for self-realization. Although the abyss is empty, essentially that emptiness translates into the infinity of life. Life knows no boundaries and is limitless in the chances and opportunities that present themselves for the taking.

The entire visit has changed Andrew. The conclusion of the film sums up its themes. As he prepares to board the plane, Largeman realizes that he would be going back to monotony. An awakening occurs and the newly acquired knowledge of life’s chances kick in and he gets off the plane to inform Sam that he does not want to waste any more of his life without her in it.

Cast

• Zach Braff as Andrew Largeman
• Natalie Portman as Sam
• Jackie Hoffman as Aunt Sylvia Largeman
• Ian Holm as Gideon Largeman
• Peter Sarsgaard as Mark
• Alex Burns as Dave
• Ron Liebman as Dr. Cohen
• Method Man as Diego

Zachary Israel Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an American television and film actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. ... Natalie Portman (‎; born June 9, 1981) is a Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award-nominated Israeli-American actress. ... Jackie Hoffman (born November 11, 1960) is an American Jewish actress and stand-up comedian best known for her facially-contorting expresions, one-woman shows and rancorous comedy that often focuses on Jewish themes. ... Sir Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm CBE (born 12 September 1931), born as Ian Holm Cuthbert, is an English actor. ... Peter Sarsgaard (born March 7, 1971) is a Golden Globe Award-nominated American film and stage actor. ... Wide eyed actor Ron Leibman was born in 1937. ... This article is about Method Man. ...

Production

Garden State was Zach Braff’s feature directing and writing debut. The title of the film was originally intended to be Large's Ark - in reference to Braff's character but he changed it because no one understood what it meant.^[7] Garden State was filmed on a budget of $2.5 million.^{[citation needed]} Most of the film was shot on location in Braff's home town of South Orange, New Jersey,^[1] with filming taking place at Cranford, Livingston, Maplewood, Newark, South Orange, Tenafly and Wallington. Although the majority of the filming was done in New Jersey, filming also took place in New York City and Los Angeles. Zachary Israel Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an American television and film actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. ... South Orange is a township located in Essex County, New Jersey. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Map of Cranford Township in Union County. ... Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. ... Map of Maplewood Township in Essex County Maplewood is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. ... Nickname: Map of Newark in Essex County Coordinates: , Country State County Essex Founded/Incorporated 1666/1836 Government  - Mayor Cory Booker, term of office 2006–2010 Area [1]  - Total 26. ... Map of South Orange Village in Essex County South Orange is a village in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. ... Tenafly (pronounced ) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. ... Map highlighting Wallingtons location within Bergen County. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

Braff has cited such films as Harold and Maude, Woody Allen films, Annie Hall and Manhattan, and the films of Alexander Payne as influences on Garden State.^[8] Parallels have also been drawn between Braff's film and Ted Demme's Beautiful Girls (1996), which is striking since Braff wrote his script during his college years when Beautiful Girls was in theatres, and his first choice for the love interest was Natalie Portman, who plays a similar role in Demme's film. ^[9] Harold and Maude is a movie directed by Hal Ashby in 1971. ... Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Konigsberg; December 1, 1935) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director, writer, actor, jazz musician, comedian and playwright. ... Annie Hall is a 1977 romantic comedy film directed by Woody Allen from a script he co-wrote with Marshall Brickman. ... Manhattan is a 1979 romantic comedy film. ... Constantine Alexander Payne (born February 10, 1961 in Omaha, Nebraska) is an Academy Award winning American film director and screenwriter. ... Ted Demme (October 26, 1963 – January 13, 2002), born in New York, New York, was an American film director and producer. ... Beautiful Girls (1996) is a film directed by Ted Demme and starring Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Mira Sorvino, Annabeth Gish, Timothy Hutton, Lauren Holly, Natalie Portman, Martha Plimpton, Michael Rapaport and Rosie ODonnell. ...

Music

Further information: Garden State (soundtrack)

The music that accompanied the film was hand-picked by Zach Braff. Commenting on the selections, Braff said that "Essentially, I made a mix CD with all of the music that I felt was scoring my life at the time I was writing the screenplay".^[10] Braff used many artists he used in other works including his friend Joshua Radin. Garden State is the soundtrack album to the film Garden State. ... Joshua Radin (Cleveland, Ohio) is an acoustic-alternative singer/songwriter. ...

Braff accepted a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The film's trailer won an award for best music at the Golden Trailer Awards. The Broadcast Film Critics Association nominated it for best soundtrack. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... I like to MOO MOO MOO and eat GRASS! ... The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the U.S. and Canada, representing 199 television, radio and online critics. ...

Reception

The film was first screened on January 16, 2004, at the Sundance Film Festival where it was purchased in a joint venture by Fox Searchlight Pictures and Miramax for USD $5 million, double the film's budget. Fox Searchlight Pictures president Peter Rice said of the film, "Having enjoyed the film immensely, we look forward to working with Miramax to bring Garden State to audiences worldwide."^[11] From March until mid July, it screened at other various film festivals until it received a limited release on July 28 in North America. It became only the fourth non-documentary feature to top the chart that year, as calculated by per screen average, since Memorial Day weekend.^[12] Stephen Gilula, president of distribution at Fox Searchlight, attributed the film's gradual success to word of mouth and a publicity tour by Braff leading up to the film's theatrical debut. Gilula said, "Zach [Braff] had a cross-country tour, and we [organized] word of mouth screenings, where we had to turn people away. Zach did Q&As following [the screenings]."^[12] From late 2004 through mid 2005, Garden State was shown at more festivals and was released in over 30 countries. Despite having a limited release in all its markets, the film was able to gather $35.8 million at the worldwide box office, of which about $26.7 million came from North America.^[13] is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival in the state of Utah in the United States. ... Fox Searchlight Pictures logo. ... Miramax is a Big Ten film distribution and production company. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... Peter Rice (1935-1992) was an Irish structural engineer. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the holiday in the United States. ... For other uses, see Word of mouth (disambiguation). ...

Garden State has an 87% freshness rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website.^[14]

Awards

In addition to being a nominee for the Grand Jury prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, Braff received Best New Director from the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Florida Film Critics Circle's Pauline Kael Breakout Award, Best Debut Director award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures and Breakout of the Year from the Phoenix Film Critics Society. The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival in the state of Utah in the United States. ... The Chicago Film Critics Association is an American film critic association. ... The Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC) is an organization of film reviewers from Florida-based publications. ... The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr. ... The Phoenix Film Critics Society (PFCS) is an organization of film reviewers from Phoenix-based publications. ...

DVD

After its limited release in theaters, the film gained more popularity during its DVD release on December 28, 2004, which includes commentaries, deleted scenes and featurettes. is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

August is the eighth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 216th day of the year (217th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Box Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic way. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Garden State

• Official site
• Official trailer
• Zach Braff's blog
• Garden State at the Internet Movie Database
• Garden State at Allmovie
• Garden State at Rotten Tomatoes
• Garden State at Metacritic
• Anatomy of a Scene:  Garden State, from the Sundance Channel website