This was the most pretentious and boring crap I've ever seen. People fall for it just to be cutesy, but lets be serious......the pacing was lethargic, the dialogue was half assed( J.L. Godard had done much better ad libbing), but at least the cinematography was great.
If you want to see an accurate story of characters wearing their hearts on their sleeves, check out Garden State, not this pretentious garbage.
Wow, I'm really sad that you hated this movie so much. Well, maybe not sad, but I guess I want everyone to love it as much as I do.
Can I ask what you mean by pretentious? I could understand you saying it was boring because it does have a very slow pace, but why pretentious? Also, and I'm totally not trying to pick a fight (as I've noticed many people do on these message boards), how can you really say that one movie's depiction of characters wearing their hearts on their sleeves can be more "accurate" that someone else's? Paul Schneider and David Gordon Green wrote this based on their own experiences in life, so how can their ideas and depictions be inaccurate, or less accurate than anyone else's?
I own and enjoy both of these films (Garden State and All the Real Girls) for different reasons. All the Real Girls is the work of a sure-handed filmmaker with an ear for dialogue that rivals the fiction of Don DeLillo and a sense of how time, light, and place fit together that brings to mind Terence Malick. Love it or hate it, Green has already made it abundantly clear with George Washington, Girls, and Undertow that he is currently and will continue to be a force to be recognized in American film.
Garden State is an enjoyably flawed debut that is full of almost endless potential. First, Garden State rested too heavily on its soundtrack to create mood. That could be worse, because the soundtrack is incredible. But certain films, even from talented filmmakers like Wes Anderson (I'm thinking Tenenbaums here) use soundtracks of popular music that jarringly removes the viewer from the film experience because when S&G's Only Living Boy in New York kicks in (back to Garden State), the viewer is thinking oh, oh yeah, what a great song, that song is supposed to make me feel like this....so I guess I will. Second, and this is the biggest criticism of Garden State, the dialogue was clunky in the most important moments: namely, Braff's final scene with Sir Ian Holm, his final scenes with Portman in the airport, and his scene with Albert when leaving the boat in the abyss. Compare Braff putting his hand on his father's chest and saying "We're gonna be ok" to Deschanel wistfully proclaiming to Schneider, "I had a dream that you grew a garden on a trampoline and I was so happy I invented peanut butter." Braff's interplay among his characters is far more appealing when he applies the sort of sad whimsical comedic touches of Largeman's interactions with the hardware store guy who thought he had killed himself, the "cop" who pulls him over, and the burial of the hamster sequence. In those moments he allows the melancholy and the sadly humorous to blend perfectly. In more straightforward dramatic moments, he either is unable or unwilling to find the right words, and so inserts the right song instead. Like I said before, it could be worse.... But it could also be much much better.
Braff is one of my favorite newbies with potential. But he's not there yet. Green is there.
All of this is, of course, my humble opinion, and if anyone takes time to read it, I thank them....
I thank you. For the longest time, I didn't really know why the emotions I got from Garden State felt kind of fake, and now I realize that it was the song insertions. Wow. You enlightened me. Now I need to watch All the Real Girls.
shareI absolutely loved "Garden State", and it definitely had the best compilation of music I've seen in a film, ever. The scene which used "The Only Living Boy in New York" worked not just because of the song it was using, but just because the scene itself was just plain great. If I had the option of watching the film without the music (like was on the old "Alien" DVD), that scene would still work out brilliantly. (I was disappointed (but not surprised) to see the shot used on the poster wasn't the DVD artwork; that shot of the three screaming into the abyss was absolute perfection)
I think I better stop right there before you all think "Garden State" is my all-time favourite film, because it's definitely not. The film itself is a wonderful, surreal experience that's worthy of repeat viewings, and at the same time, moves at a wonderful pace- not too fast, but not too slow, either. Zach Braff commented on how he deliberately avoided the three-act structure to provide something different, but in a way, it made the film end somewhat abruptly (though perhaps that was his intent). Okay, yes, the ending kind of did depend on that song (Frou Frou's "Let Go", which is absolutely wonderful), did seem somewhat cliche, but was still a good ending for a good film.
As for this film, I have not seen it, but I am going to assume it has this minimalist style of filmmaking as seen in some of Gus van Sant's recent films ("Gerry", "Elephant", "Last Days")... sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. "Elephant" worked in this style because it kind of did show the events happening in real-time... that, and the amount of prespectives shown on several parts were interesting enough to hold the film together. "Gerry", however, was just plain dull. Beautiful visuals, but also a damn good cure for insomnia. (that, however, is just my opinion)
"Wanna go to the dump and shoot some rats?"
i completely agree with everything you said about the soundtrack.....i mean i love the soundtrack.....but did it deserve a grammy? should there even be a grammy catagory, "best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture"? it's relatively easy to compile a group of songs to depict certain moods in film....and thats exactly what a "compilation soundtrack for a motion picture" is.
the film, i enjoyed....although for me enjoyable and entertaining films do not exactly mean good films.....although i would not call this a bad one nor a great one.
I've never seen Garden State, so I cannot comment on the soundtrack. I have seen and absolutely adore All the Real Girls, but I must comment on the soundtrack here because it is used several times to elicit emotion. Maybe the songs aren't as widely recognized to some, but they still are there and are still used as an emotional device. Case in point: Sparklehorse's Sea of Teeth while Zooey and Paul are lying in bed. But then again, I love Sparklehorse so the usage of that song kind of pulled me out of the film...I guess I can't entirely blame the DGG for that. And then there was Bonnie Prince Billy in the beginning. But that song helped establish the rustic setting of the film.
And to say that All the Real Girls is pretentious and Garden State is the perfect example of human emotions is just ridiculous. Garden State is enjoyable, but is in no way a masterpiece and, like you said relies to heavily on the mood that the music paints. David Gordon Green is certainly there and back and beyond. Braff is cool, that's about it.
shareGarden State felt like a beer commercial to me.
shareI agree. Garden State didn't make me feel anything in particular, good pop music. Neat. All The Real Girls, on the other hand, strangely asthetic, fitting music (I'd never heard on the radio), and I haven't seen anything quite like it.
Just my opinion.
Then you really missed all and any points that Garden State had. I'm not trying to be mean (okay so you kind of hit the wrong botton with this comment)but since we are all talking about music here. The wonderful music used in this movie would never be used for a beer commercial. Besides I remeber drug usage way more than the beer assumption. I think you should watch a movie with both eyes open.
shareGarden State is an awful and contrived film made with no heart or artistic integrity. You might as well have had Zach Braff himself in the movie theater hitting you over your head with his trite "symbolism".
All The Real Girls is a beautiful poetic film that tries to capture real people and real emotions. I think there is no comparison. I'll admit David Gordan Green's films aren't conventional, but film would be a very boring place if everyone told stories exactly the same way over and over again.
And, to anyone wants to play the pretentious card, I think you need to grow up and open up your mind a little bit.
I don't think there's much of a comparison. I wouldn't call Garden State a bad film (even though I really had trouble liking Zach Braff's performance), but I can't get around feeling like it's sort of a dumbed down, teenybopper version of a movie like All the Real Girls. There's so much more nuance, so much more going on in this one than in a movie like Garden State, which, again, accomplishes what it sets out to for that kind of flick.
shareI'm not saying ARG was so wonderful but the dialog in every scene of Garden State sounded straight out of "Monologues for Yong Actors".
shareGarden State's a nice little movie, but not as good as its soundtrack suggests.
shareI loathe Garden State and I love All the Real Girls - but both films have good soundtracks. Garden State just shoves the music down your throat. (e.g. "You have to hear this - it'll change your life").
Oh please...
All the Real Girls is pretty much NOT pretentious. Any movie that has fart jokes in it, loses its pretentious card.
Garden State didn't feel real to me. I found the existence of a Natalie Portman fairy godmother to be infuriatingly coincidental. She was completely selfless in that movie. Completely unrealistic character.
If you want a good fairy tale ditch Garden State and get Buffalo '66.
If you grew up in the midwest in a small town All the Real Girls hits it out of the ballpark. Green captured it perfectly.
Agree with you on Buffalo '66, although Gallo grates on me--not in that film, and not because of the brown bunny and the ebert feud, but because it is hard to separate his work from his arrogance, and i don't believe he is quite as brilliant as he thinks he is.
nevertheless, this is an ARG board, after all, and i could not agree more that the beauty in ARG, at an intangible level, lies in its lack of pretention. Green, after 3 movies (hell, after George Washington) has more right to be arrogant and/or pretentious than Braff or Gallo, but he's not. Or if he is, it doesn't glare through his work.
Although I really loved this film, I cant totally see why someone would hate it. The pacing is the most off putting part of the film. It doesnt spend enough time on each of the scenes whitch can leaver the viewer univoled, and the charachters distant. It's the type of film where you either love it or hate it. I think the Terrance Malick comparison is completly on the money though. Style over substance.
?$%^&*$#@#$^^^
Wow. I felt entirely the opposite, but it may be an age thing. I thought Garden State was silly, I couldn't relate. It seemed trite.
Whereas this film is one of the only movies I've seen where I understood the relationship and identified with the characters. It's one of the best movies I've seen in 27 years and that isn't hyperbole. Paul Scheider did an outstanding job.
Garden State could only seem significant to a fifteen year old. All the Real Girls is a much better movie in pretty much any way that matters. The usage of music in All the Real Girls (Sparklehorse, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky) is much more intelligent and subtle to boot.
shareI would disagree...Garden State would only apply to a 15yr. old if she/he was in college. I watched this a bunch of college friends and we all loved it mainly because of the scene where he talks about home(to me and my good friends that just seems real). Yes I love the music(uh...who wouldn't, oh and don't tell my friends you think the soundtrack contain's pop music sorry I didn't hear any Brittney or N'SYNC and Simon and Garfunkle is not what I think of when I think of pop.besides my friends that love this soundtrack hate pop music so even though I don't trust my music instincts on pop or not pop. these people I do and they vote no, not pop....sorry this part of the comment is in response to someone else.) I think both films are applicable to the young 20 late teen crowd or maybe the mid-teen crowd too. It has themes that fit for those crowds as far as I can tell it has to do with growing up and life and love and real lost. Garden State's music helps to renforce scenes...every time I hear the songs I can remember how the film made me feel I remeber the scene it was used in. I think the film would survive without the music, but why live with out it? ARG on the other hand has less memorable music...it doesn't stick with you the very first time. Besides I don't think these films are really meant to be compared. I like Garden State and i don't hate ARG I can see it's good points even though it was hard to with the horribly slow pacing that made me want to filp through channels ( I saw it on WE)but still I think we shouldn't argue because even though they were made for the same crowd and I'm sure you could find at least one similar theme b/w the both of them I think they get the points across differently which is nice because then all kinds of people can get the same ideas(sort of) from different movies. and i'm just tired of you people arguing becasue these just aren't comparable movies...I love/like them both but I think putting one against the other is just not fair.(i love the character though in both films)
shareGranted I havent seen this film, but you call it pretentious and refer others to Garden State? lol. Garden State is a compendium of pretention and cliches.
shareIt's so amusing to me that this thread was even created. I was sitting there watching ATRG and thinking, man, this reminds me of Garden State. I think they're both brilliant in their own right. And they both portray relationships in a realistic light. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
shareI am really surprised to see all the positve feedback from this movie. This is one of those movies I watch to get a laugh at how rediculous the acting is. I didn't like this movie one bit.
shareActually i just finished watching this movie. What pretentious load of tripe,i mean textbook pyschology and philosophy, bad acting, incongrous scenes that held no meaning. It was so soppy. I kept asking myself how old these people? They're acting like damned teenagers! Watch Closer instead.
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