Garden State

Andrew Largeman, a television actor living in New York, returns to his New Jersey hometown for his mother's funeral after years away. The visit brings him back into contact with old friends, whose lives have taken unexpected directions, and with his father Gideon, a psychologist with whom he has a strained relationship. Andrew has spent years on medication for depression and decides to stop taking it around this time. A meeting with Sam, a young woman dealing with health problems of her own, gives him a companion as he confronts his past and begins to consider a different future.

Garden State is a comedy-drama with romantic elements, written and directed by Zach Braff, who also plays Andrew. It was his first film as director, followed later by Wish I Was Here, Going in Style and A Good Person. Natalie Portman plays Sam, with Ian Holm as Gideon, Peter Sarsgaard as Mark, Jean Smart as Carol and Armando Riesco as Jesse. The film was produced by Gary Gilbert, Pamela Abdy and William H. Brown, and the credited cast runs to 37 performers.

Made for about 3 million dollars, the film took roughly 36 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.4 out of 10 from around 229,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.1 out of 10 from a much smaller number of votes. A critics' rating of 7.7 out of 10 from 189 reviews places it somewhat above both audience scores.