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August 8, 2004
A continuing trend of Jersey-themed movies
Saturday night I watched the movie Garden State (official site) at the Kendall Theater. This continues an ongoing determination of mine to watch any movie set in New Jersey, which, of course, has led me to see the Kevin Smith movies (in reverse order in which I have watched them) Jersey Girl, Jay and Slient Bob Strike Back, Chasing Amy, Mallrats, and Clerks. Todd Solondz directed another New Jersey-themed film I've seen, Happiness, part of whose action takes place in Roseland, New Jersey, next to my hometown of Essex Fells, New Jersey.
Garden State involves a man in his mid-20s who returns to his hometown and meets up with his old friends and encounters Natalie Portman, who gives him a new perspective on life. Interestingly, this is almost the exact same plot of Beautiful Girls, which also featured Natalie Portman. This time, however, Natalie Portman is in her 20s, rather than 13, as in the latter film. This allows the main character of Garden State, played by Zach Braff (who also wrote and directed the film), to fall in love with Natalie Portman, instead of debating, as Matt Dillon did in Beautiful Girls, whether it would be worthwhile to wait 5 years until she turns 18 in order to fall for her.
Other references: Zach Braff fan site, Natalie Portman fan site, Zach Braff Garden State blog
Posted by Dean at August 8, 2004 12:12 AM