The green green grass of home

"Romantic" and "comedy" are two words which, when placed together, ordinarily instil a profound sense of horror into my heart. 'Garden State' is, ultimately, a romantic comedy, but like 'As Good As It Gets' it's a particularly deceptive and devious one because it only comes out of the closet and reveals its true nature halfway through.

Up until this point, I had been utterly charmed by the film's offbeat humour, witty touches and general quirkiness, none of which feels at all forced - for which all the credit must go to Zach 'Scrubs' Braff, as its writer, director and star. He even gets a decent performance out of Natalie Portman, last seen (I think) doing a passable impersonation of a corpse as Queen Amidala.

After the midway point, the laughs are gradually airbrushed out, convention drifts in and the ending is disappointingly saccharine.

Nevertheless, it's certainly worth a peek - and, coming from this particular cynical and jaded individual, that's high praise for a rom-com.

(Braff even has his own 'Garden State' blog - click here to read it.)