Garden State

What a charming film. It was written, directed, and stars Zach Braff who is the main goofball doctor in the midst of his residency on the TV show "Scrubs," which is a new favorite of my wife's and mine. (We only found it last season, which is a DRAG, as we've missed the first few.)

Zach's character returns home from LA (where he's trying to make it as an actor) for a family event. He bumps into old buddies and new ones. Hilarity ensues (and this time I don't mean it ironically).

Two intriguing things about this flick are:

1) It's essentially plotless, like American Graffiti or The Graduate (which this movie most resembles), but it's compelling anyway. The writing is really good, which is unexpected since the star wrote and directed it. This should be a sucky straight to video vanity project, but it's not.

2) The visuals, achieved through the direction and design, are great! This film is fun to look at. Make sure you're seeing the widescreen version (if different versions exist), and have the lights down low.

Top that all off with Natalie Portman playing a sweet misfit, and you got yourself a popcorn and date movie extraordinaire.

Check it out, mang.