1 / 8
MONEY
Did you know
Shot for just $2.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Garden State
2004 1h 42m EN
👍
7.1
SOLID
🍅
86%
FRESH
👌
67
METACRITIC
⭐
7.4
IMDB
★7.1TMDB · 2,127🍅86%Rotten Tomatoes●67Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 227,462
ComedyDramaRomance
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
Andrew returns to his hometown for his mother’s funeral, a journey that reconnects him with old friends. The trip coincides with his decision to stop taking his powerful antidepressants. A chance meeting with Sam—a girl also struggling with various maladies—opens up the possibility of rekindling emotional connections, confronting his psychologist father, and perhaps beginning a new life.
“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”
Cast
Zach Braff
Andrew Largeman
Natalie Portman
Sam
Ian Holm
Gideon Largeman
Peter Sarsgaard
Mark
Jean Smart
Carol
Armando Riesco
Jesse
Jackie Hoffman
Aunt Sylvia Largeman
Method Man
Diego
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Zach Braff
- Writers
- Zach Braff
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
MONEY
Did you know
Grossed $27M — a 10.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
ERA
Did you know
Released 22 years ago.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Zach Braff, shot by Lawrence Sher. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Chad Fischer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Myron Kerstein shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Zach Braff and Natalie Portman and Ian Holm carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0333766 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Zach Braff directs. Lawrence Sher behind the camera. Chad Fischer scores. Myron Kerstein cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Shot for just $2.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
- 2Grossed $27M — a 10.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
- 3Released 22 years ago.
- 4Directed by Zach Braff, shot by Lawrence Sher. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 5Original score by Chad Fischer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 6Editor Myron Kerstein shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 7Zach Braff and Natalie Portman and Ian Holm carry the top of the cast.
- 8IMDB entry: tt0333766 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 9Classified under 18 themes, including "depression", "new jersey", "unsociability", "paraplegic".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Lawrence Sher
- Original score
- Chad Fischer
- Editing
- Myron Kerstein
- Production design
- Judy Becker
- Costume design
- Michael Wilkinson
- Makeup / hair
- Corinna Woodcock
- Runtime
- 102 min · 1h 42m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $2,500,000
- Box office
- $26,781,723
- Return
- 1071% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- R
- Rotten Tomatoes
- 86% 🍅 Fresh
- Metacritic
- 67/100
- IMDB rating
- 7.4/10 · 227,462 votes
- MPAA
- R
Awards
13 wins & 39 nominations total
Also by
Zach Braff
Stills · wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- Andres Gomez★ 6/10
Interesting and sometimes funny but with an aim of being more transcendental than what it actually is.
- tmdb15435519★ 7/10
Finally a Natalie Portman and Zach Braff performance I can get behind!
Production companies
Who made it
- CA
Camelot Pictures
US
Jersey Films
US
Double Feature Films
US
Fox Searchlight Pictures
US
Miramax
US
Key crew
- Line ProducerAnn Ruark
- Executive ProducerMichael Shamberg
- Executive ProducerStacey Sher
- ProducerPamela Abdy
- Executive ProducerDanny DeVito
- ProducerGary Gilbert
- ProducerDan Halsted
- ProducerRichard Klubeck
- EditorMyron Kerstein
- CastingAvy Kaufman
- Production DesignJudy Becker
- Art DirectionLaura Ballinger
- Set DecorationHeather Loeffler
- Costume DesignMichael Wilkinson
- HairstylistCorinna Woodcock
- HairstylistGianna Sparacino
- Makeup ArtistEvelyne Noraz
- Color TimerMichael Hatzer
- Co-ProducerWilliam H. Brown
- Assistant Location ManagerPeter Pastorelli
- First Assistant DirectorMichael Lerman
- Foley ArtistJames Bailey
- SoundSteve Bartkowicz
- SoundPeter Nusbaum
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- depression
- new jersey
- unsociability
- paraplegic
- expensive restaurant
- loss of loved one
- pop culture
- difficult childhood
- ecstasy
- strangeness
- epilepsy
- lethargy
- answering machine
- single
- marijuana
- los angeles, california
- psychiatrist
- grave digger
Release history · US
When it landed
- Premiere2004-01-16· Sundance Film Festival
- Theatrical (limited)2004-07-28R
- Theatrical2004-08-20R
Also known as
International titles
- Tiempo de VolverSV
- Algo en comúnES
