Zach Braff	...	(Director)
Zach Braff	...	(Writer)
Zach Braff	...	Andrew Largeman
Christopher Carley	...	Gleason Party Drunk (as Chris Carley)
Amy Ferguson	...	Dana
Jill Flint	...	Obnoxious Girl
Gary Gilbert	...	Young Hollywood Guy
Kenneth Graymez	...	Busboy
George C. Wolfe	...	Restaurant Manager
Austin Lysy	...	Waiter
Ian Holm	...	Gideon Largeman
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Mark
Alex Burns	...	Dave
Jackie Hoffman	...	Aunt Sylvia Largeman
Michael Weston	...	Kenny
Armando Riesco	...	Jesse
Trisha LaFache	...	Kelly
Jim Parsons	...	Tim
Natalie Portman	...
Lawrence Sher	...	Cinematographer

Summary: Zach Braff (from the TV show Scrubs) stars in his writing/directing debut, Garden State--normally a doomed act of hubris, but Braff pulls it off with unassuming charm. An emotionally numb actor in L.A., Andrew (Braff) comes back to New Jersey after nine years away for his mother's funeral. Andrew avoids his bitter father (Ian Holm, The Sweet Hereafter) and joins old friends (including the superb Peter Sarsgaard, Boys Don't Cry) in a round of parties. Along the way he meets a girl (Natalie Portman, Beautiful Girls) with demons of her own; bit by bit the two offer each other a little healing. Plotwise, Garden State is familiar stuff, a cross between The Graduate and a Meg Ryan movie, but Braff has an eye for goofy but resonant visual images, an ear for lively dialogue, and a great cast. The result is surprisingly fresh and funny. --Bret Fetzer