Movie #221 - Garden State

Garden State
2004 - Rated R - 1 hr 42 min
Director: Zach Braff
Starring: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Ian Holm, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Weston, Jim Parsons, Jean Smart, Method Man, Geoffrey Arend

With Zach Braff writing, directing, and starring in this movie, you'd think it would get more self-indulgent than it does. On the contrary, it's a well-balanced movie that takes two confused people, struggling on their own, and puts them together.  Their relationship develops fast but at a pace that still seems realistic and the connection between them is clear.  If nothing else, Braff and Natalie Portman create perfect chemistry.  At times, you feel like you're watching something almost too personal.

And even though mental health plays such a big part in Braff's character, it doesn't overtake the movie.  It's just background noise that sets up much of the action, but it never takes away from the romance piece.  These characters grow individually together and it's heartwarming to watch.

Movie #11 - (500) Days of Summer

(500) Days of Summer
Fox Searchlight Pictures
2009 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 35 min
Director: Marc Webb
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend

This is probably my favorite "relationship" Indy flick since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Except this movie has Zooey Deschanel, who is amazing. Love her.

So this movie also has an interesting structure, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt's story jumping back and forth within the 500 days that he was in love (or obsessed) with Summer Finn (Deschanel). He's the clean-cut, love-sick puppy guy and she's the off-beat, living and loving life girl who can't be tied down. A classic story of unrequited love with a twist: the presentation.

Gordon-Levitt does a good job of being whiney without getting on your nerves and Deschanel isn't so quirky you can't connect to her. Both characters have their own journeys, and this movie tells the story of the intersection of those stories and how it sends them both in opposite directions.

But as the narrator warns you in the beginning, this isn't a love story. It's more of what I call a "life movie" or a character piece that picks up and leaves off abruptly. I think most people will enjoy it for its realism and the characters.