There’s a pretty palpable Garden State backlash out there. To those people, I can only implore: “Please… please! Go fuck yourself.” It’s a really good movie, a very honest and nice movie, and a fantastic first effort. Maybe that’s why people hate it so much.
Garden State turned me into a Zach Braff fan – I even started watching Scrubs, which I had ignored, even though former CHUD message board superstar Dan Laugharn had been championing it. As a Zach Braff fan, I find myself incredibly excited that he’s going to be directing a new movie, starting this June. It’s a remake of a recent foreign film (oh, Zach – frowny face) called Open Hearts. In it a woman has to deal with her husband becoming paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident. Her way of coping: starting an affair with his doctor. Ruh roh! Sounds like Braff’s taking this to the serious side for his sophomore effort. Will we be telling him we liked his early, funny one better?
Braff plans to have a minor role in the film, and I certainly hope he isn’t playing the doctor. I mean, could we really remove JD from our minds while watching Braff run around in a white coat? I vote for Peter Sarsgaard for either of the main male roles, by the way – it’s not too early to get a rep company together, Zach!
Open Hearts will be shooting in New Jersey over the Scrubs break (does this mean there’s a season six of Scrubs coming? I wasn’t expecting that, honestly). If you’re reading this, Mr. Braff, you burgeoning genius, I’m only a PATH train away.