History Film / GardenState

* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Sam. Certainly not the UrExample, but one of the most famous examples.

* TheFunInFuneral: A mild example.
* GilliganCut: In the rain.

''Garden State'' is a 2004 film written, directed by and starring Zach Braff (''Series/{{Scrubs}}''), who also stars along with Creator/NataliePortman, Creator/PeterSarsgaard, and Creator/IanHolm.

It was filmed over 25 days in April and May 2003 and released on July 28, 2004. The main setting and primary shooting location was New Jersey. It was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. The film won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards. The film contains many [[ShoutOut allusions]] to the similar coming-of-age film ''TheGraduate'' (1967), most notably the opening airplane scene that both pictures share.

* ShoutOut: To ''TheGraduate'', but to plenty of other things as well.

** Now Braff is now working on a proper SpiritualSuccessor called ''Wish I Was Here''

* DVDCommentary

* FollowTheLeader: It spawned a lot of terrible and [[Film/{{Elizabethtown}} not so terrible]] imitators, so now when you describe it, it sounds awful. One of the reasons for its severe case of SeinfeldIsUnfunny.

''Garden State'' is a 2004 film written, directed by and starring Zach Braff, with NataliePortman, Creator/PeterSarsgaard and co-starring Sir Creator/IanHolm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman (Braff), a 26-year-old actor/waiter who has been living in a catatonic emotional state. Since he was ten, he has been kept on at least one form of the drug lithium. After receiving a phone call from his dad, with whom he has not spoken in a long time, Andrew returns to his hometown in New Jersey upon finding out his paraplegic mother drowned in the bath. Visiting the place where he grew up, he soon meets Sam (Portman), the girl that brings him out of his shell. The title alludes both to the nickname for New Jersey and to lines from Andrew Marvell's poem "The Garden" ("Such was that happy garden-state,/ While man there walked without a mate").

''Garden State'' was well received, and is considered a major success for ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' actor Zach Braff, as it was his feature film debut as a director. Lacking the publicity machine of most mainstream Hollywood films, it generated a devoted fan base from people who read and responded to Braff's blog on the film's official site. Fans drove hours to see the film and saw it repeatedly in theaters. The film also spawned a popular soundtrack for which Braff, who picked the music himself, won a Grammy award.

* WrongfullyAttributed: An in-universe half-example, there's a scene where Andrew's friend Jesse mentions ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'' and attributes it to Aldous [[TheCosbyShow Huxtable]] rather than Huxley.

* SpiritualSuccessor: If ''GardenState'' went one state over, it would be called ''Film/{{Adventureland}}''.

''GardenState'' was well received, and is considered a major success for ''{{Scrubs}}'' actor Zach Braff, as it was his feature film debut as a director. Lacking the publicity machine of most mainstream Hollywood films, it generated a devoted fan base from people who read and responded to Braff's blog on the film's official site. Fans drove hours to see the film and saw it repeatedly in theaters. The film also spawned a popular soundtrack for which Braff, who picked the music himself, won a Grammy award.

'''''Garden State''''' is a 2004 film written, directed by and starring Zach Braff, with NataliePortman, Creator/PeterSarsgaard and co-starring Sir Creator/IanHolm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman (Braff), a 26-year-old actor/waiter who has been living in a catatonic emotional state. Since he was ten, he has been kept on at least one form of the drug lithium. After receiving a phone call from his dad, with whom he has not spoken in a long time, Andrew returns to his hometown in New Jersey upon finding out his paraplegic mother drowned in the bath. Visiting the place where he grew up, he soon meets Sam (Portman), the girl that brings him out of his shell. The title alludes both to the nickname for New Jersey and to lines from Andrew Marvell's poem "The Garden" ("Such was that happy garden-state,/ While man there walked without a mate").

* FollowTheLeader: It spawned a lot of terrible imitators, so now when you describe it, it sounds awful. One of the reasons for its severe case of SeinfeldIsUnfunny.

'''''Garden State''''' is a 2004 film written, directed by and starring Zach Braff, with NataliePortman, Creator/PeterSarsgaard and co-starring Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman (Braff), a 26-year-old actor/waiter who has been living in a catatonic emotional state. Since he was ten, he has been kept on at least one form of the drug lithium. After receiving a phone call from his dad, with whom he has not spoken in a long time, Andrew returns to his hometown in New Jersey upon finding out his paraplegic mother drowned in the bath. Visiting the place where he grew up, he soon meets Sam (Portman), the girl that brings him out of his shell. The title alludes both to the nickname for New Jersey and to lines from Andrew Marvell's poem "The Garden" ("Such was that happy garden-state,/ While man there walked without a mate").

* RuleOfFunny: Large's argument with the customer at the restaurant that he works at probably wouldn't come up in RealLife. Vietnamese restaurants are actually far more likely to serve bread than most other Asian restaurants--Vietnam was a protectorate of France for over a century, so its cuisine has a very strong French slant, and baguettes are frequently eaten there.

'''''Garden State''''' is a 2004 film written, directed by and starring Zach Braff, with NataliePortman, Peter Sarsgaard and co-starring Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman (Braff), a 26-year-old actor/waiter who has been living in a catatonic emotional state. Since he was ten, he has been kept on at least one form of the drug lithium. After receiving a phone call from his dad, with whom he has not spoken in a long time, Andrew returns to his hometown in New Jersey upon finding out his paraplegic mother drowned in the bath. Visiting the place where he grew up, he soon meets Sam (Portman), the girl that brings him out of his shell. The title alludes both to the nickname for New Jersey and to lines from Andrew Marvell's poem "The Garden" ("Such was that happy garden-state,/ While man there walked without a mate").

[[quoteright:226:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/GardenStateMoviePoaster_3782.JPG]]

''Garden State'' is a 2004 film written, directed by and starring Zach Braff, with NataliePortman, Peter Sarsgaard and co-starring Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman (Braff), a 26-year-old actor/waiter who has been living in a catatonic emotional state. Since he was ten, he has been kept on at least one form of the drug lithium. After receiving a phone call from his dad, with whom he has not spoken in a long time, Andrew returns to his hometown in New Jersey upon finding out his paraplegic mother drowned in the bath. Visiting the place where he grew up, he soon meets Sam (Portman), the girl that brings him out of his shell. The title alludes both to the nickname for New Jersey and to lines from Andrew Marvell's poem "The Garden" ("Such was that happy garden-state,/ While man there walked without a mate").

!! This film contains examples of:

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[Series/TheBigBangTheory Sheldon Cooper]] as the fast-food knight who tells Andrew about his forehead after the party. It's now widely considered JimParsons' breakthrough role.