Episode 133: Garden State (2004)

Film chosen by Patrick

“Good luck exploring the infinite abyss.” It’s a trip back to smalltown New Jersey with sitcom star-turned-indie auteur Zach Braff and his 2004 directorial debut Garden State.

Heavily medicated struggling Hollywood actor/waiter Andrew “Large” Largeman (Braff) learns of his disabled mother’s passing, and heads back to the home of his father (Ian Holm) for the first time in a decade for the funeral. Rather than deal with the bereavement, he buddies around with a former high school classmate, dirtbag gravedigger Mark (Peter Saarsgard), and newly wealthy loafer Jesse (Armando Riesco). Large stumbles into a conversation with intriguingly quirky Sam (Natalie Portman) in a doctor’s waiting room – companionship turns to attraction, but Large’s emotional baggage and inability to confront it disrupts their coy romance.

Braff’s film, after striking gold in the then-still lucrative early 2000s big indie/mini-major boom that swept up Sundance standouts by bagging a dual-deal with both Miramax and Fox Searchlight, went on to make a very impressive return on its modest budget investment, aided by a zeitgeist-capturing soundtrack en route to becoming one of the more lauded breakout hits of the year. But, its critical reputation seemed to sour quickly among even some former admirers, leaving Braff unable to capitalise on his emergence as a dramedy director of note for a full decade after its release. Join our panel of Patrick, Matt, and Devlin as they gently place headphones onto each other, bury the hamster, and catch their solitary tears in solo cups while talking MPDGs, quarter-life malaise, the allure of the homecoming-of-ager, and post-millennium emo angst, while tracing their personal journeys with this most sensy* of films.

Prints of this poster are available at our Teemill.

*Heeey. Matt here. I made this Sensy playlist yonks ago. It is best explained by Zach Braff via “J.D.” and mostly features music from Scrubs.

“It’s short for sensitive guy. Our music is acoustic alternative. We marvel at fireflies, and when we help a drunk girl home from the bar, sure we cop a feel—a feel of her hair as we’re pulling it back so she doesn’t get any vomit in it.” — John Michael “J.D.” Dorian, M.D.