Critic Reviews
67
Metascore
Generally Favorable
positive
30(81%)
mixed
7(19%)
negative
0(0%)
Showing 37 Critic Reviews
100
Garden State gets it. Not since "The Graduate" has a movie nailed the beautiful terror of standing on the brink of adulthood with such satisfying precision.
89
There's even a Simon and Garfunkel tune on the soundtrack, which makes Braff's character seem like the only living boy in New Jersey, which, of course, he may well be. L'chaim!
88
Garden State is filled with characters you long to know more about, in situations to which almost anyone can relate. And that's as near a can't-miss movie formula as one can get.
80
Garden State illuminates a young man's overdue coming of age with unexpected depth and grace.
80
Writer/director Zach Braff has threaded a powerful and intelligent personal story through a genre all too rare today – romantic comedy.
80
The movie never finds a consistent tone -- the humor is dynamically offbeat, the dramatic moments a bit canned -- but Braff's affection for his misfit characters and skeptical take on how people sell themselves short in America make this the truest generational statement I've seen since "Donnie Darko."
80
Garden State charms with ease and moves with grace; it's warm but never mushy, languorous but never groggy, rueful but never despondent. It's like a perfect pop song--that thing that makes you smile and tear up at the same time.
80
A great debut from a promising talent.
75
It's a hilarious and heartfelt ode to twentysomething angst. Braff has himself a winner.
75
Though unlikely to have the lasting quality of "The Graduate," it feels a bit like that seminal film for today's generation.
