Friday, September 16, 2005

Garden State


Ok, so I know that I'm coming late to the party, but I just watched Garden State last night for the first time. I know it's pathetic for a former self-proclaimed pop culture junkie, but give me a break, I have 2 kids under the age of 4. Anyway. If you're later to the party than I am and haven't yet seen Garden State, but want to preserve some suspense for yourself, you might want to get off the Parkway at the next toll. In other words, stop reading because I'm going to give away key portions of the movie.

Pretty good flick and I was particularly impressed when I got to the end and saw that it was written and directed by Zach Braff. He has more going on than I thought. Clearly this movie is to Zach Braff what Good Will Hunting was to Damon and Affleck and what Mr. Deeds was to Adam Sandler. For him, it's a movie about home and it has particular appeal to those of us who enjoyed the ignominious pleasure of growing up in the Armpit of America. (Incidently, do you know that the guy who named Jersey the Garden State was on a boat several hundred feet from shore when he did?)

As I watched and caught up with the particular angle on life Garden State takes, I had two thoughts--first, that it's a very postmodern film, allowing the viewer to fill in some blanks or be satisfied that not everything is going to be worked out cleanly and secondly, that it reminded me quite a bit of The Graduate. Similar aged guys who seem to be floating through life, influenced more by other people initially than any force of conviction that they possess. I actually think Braff acts quite a bit like Hoffman's character and wonder if he used it for inspiration at all.

Anyway, there's a disappointing difference on both of those counts when it comes to the ending of GS. One of the things I love best about The Graduate is that at the end, Hoffman drives his Alfa Romeo all night and runs out of gas and finally gets to the church, and gets the girl. They go running out of the church. Then they jump on a city bus and in one of the great movie scenes of all time, the camera zooms in on their faces, her sitting in her wedding dress, him in his dirty jacket looking quite unkempt and the look on their faces is completely unresolved. They look happy, they smile at each other and then they face forward and have this look that kind of says, "what did we just do?" and then there's a hard cut to black. That's how the movie ends and it is completely left up to the viewer to decide what happens with these two people. It's not a cheesy sequel setup or anything, but a strong statement about how life doesn't quite so easily resolve itself as is often portrayed in art. I get the feeling that Braff wanted to do the same thing in Garden State, but essentially he wussed out and gave it a very traditional happy ending where his and Natalie Portmann's character get together. His character even says something about "not putting a period on this thing, just an ellipsis" but then he goes ahead and cheeses out by getting off the plane.

My question is why can't anyone make a decent truly postmodern movie that doesn't resolve itself? Do we all need the comfortable G chord at the end instead of hanging on a nice A minor?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think there's anything wrong with a happy ending. Sometimes it's not as true to real life as it should be, but sometimes it is, and I think the majority of guys in the world WOULD get off the plane to stay with Natalie Portman...as she is, Natalie Portman. Happy endings in movies usually make me feel better as I don't have to make up an ending for myself. That sounds lazy and shallow, but I don't mind it.

(By the way...how funny was the scene with Largeman's friend shooting flaming arrows into the sky at his mansion?)

Tim said...

Go see Crash.

Bill said...

Crash! Very disturbing but an awesome movie that does not end the way you think. And leaves you thinking for quite a while. (well, me at least)

A. St. said...

Broken Flowers does exactly what you're asking for. Definitely postmodern. Don't agree with the oscar buzz about Bill Murray (whom I love) and his performance in this film- but I love the open endings. I appreciate their honesty. Married it's just us married guys. We know that life didn't fade to black and credits didn't roll when we left the reception- life continues to happen! This is why I usually abhor stupid chick flicks that I have to go to with my wife- the cheesecake endings.
-Justin

Phil said...

I agree with anonymous. I'm a Princess Bride kinda guy myself.

I did, however see a pretty bad chick flick the other night with my wife - "Just Like Heaven" - Reese Witherspoon. Very cookie-cutter ending that I really wasn't a fan of.

A. St. said...

excuse me, tangos and flowers----the "wife" likes the A minor endings just as much. Besides, what is wrong with a little mindless entertainment once in a blue moon? Yeah, we all know J-lo is just about the worst actress out there, but The Wedding Planner is a good way to numb the overactive mind after a hard day! Broken flowers was a good flick, I concure. Drew, you should see that one. Open endings are good- they spur us to actually use our own bloody imaginations.

Mhairi said...

you have two kinds??? two kinds of what? Apples, oranges, coca cola, beer? Oops, we're the Salvation Army, we dont' drink beer, or wine, or anything with caffeine in it!!! hahaha, I actually was asked tha once; "Er, I know you don't drink alcohol, you don't drink caffeine either yeah?"
Caffeine, the Salvationist drug of choice!!!

blogblogblog said...

thanks you scottish brat. I fixed my typo.