Song Lyric of the Day:
It’s a luscious mix of words and tricks / That let us bet when you know we should fold / On rocks i dreamt of where we’d stepped / And the whole mess of roads we’re now on.
The Shins / “Caring Is Creepy”
11:18PM.
Rich and I watched “Garden State” tonight. I’ve been a fan of writer/director/star Zach Braff since “Scrubs” started, so this was a treat for me. Andrew Largeman, an actor, goes home to New Jersey for his mother’s funeral. We find out he hasn’t been home in almost 10 years, for pretty good reasons. He’s decided to take this time to wean himself off the antidepressants he’s been on for as long as he can remember. Along for the ride on his journey is Sam (Natalie Portman), a manic young woman with epilepsy he meets and with whom he falls in love. Andrew also reconnects, or tries to, with his estranged father and another friend, Mark (Peter Saarsgard), a directionless 26-year old gravedigger. I’ll admit, in the beginning of the movie, Natalie Portman struck me as trying too hard to be cutesy/endearingly odd, but she ended up growing on me. Sam really meshed with Andrew–being the only person who really “got” him, she helped him better understand who he is, never once passing judgment. I think what impressed me most about this movie is how Zach Braff so genuinely depicted all the feelings a twentysomething goes through. Not only are his writing and directing spot on, but he selected pitch-perfect songs for the soundtrack. “Garden State” reminded me of what it felt like to wonder who I was supposed to be, who I was expected to be, and trying to accept who I actually was at that age. And most importantly, it reminded me that I’m pretty happy with the person I am today.
