A Garden State of Mind

A film review of Garden State, written and directed by the talented Braff (star of the TV show Scrubs), is an existential tale of Largeman, a Generation Xer who returns home after being away for eight years, his subsequent reunion with old friends, his attempts to deal with parental issues, and the formation of an unexpected relationship with a quirky, epileptic, compulsive liar named Sam (Natalie Portman). Largeman and Sam are bipolar opposites, with Sam's mania being the driving force behind Largeman's willingness to experience life to its fullest. This finding-oneself film, though revealing some of Generation X's peccadilloes and some salient issues confronting contemporary psychiatry, leaves the viewer wanting to know more about Sam and less of Largeman's recreational drug-using friends from high school. Nevertheless, the film is as comedic as it is serious, and the scenes of a Klingon-speaking fast-food knight, hamster funerals, and trips to the hardware store are as entertaining as they are revealing. Garden State subtly introduces mental health-related issues. Although there are many unanswered questions in this film, the viewer does leave the theater with a sense of optimism about Largeman's future, along with a feeling of trepidation about psychiatry and medication, and likely humming one of the songs from the creative soundtrack. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)