When Andrew Largeman (Braff) finds out that his mother has died, he finally stops taking the mood-altering prescription drugs that have deadened him for 17 years. He flies from L.A. back to New Jersey for the funeral, and immediately reconnects with his school friend Mark (Sarsgaard), now a stoner gravedigger, although things are a bit tougher with his dad (Holm). But his new lucidity needs focus, and he finds that in a chance meeting with Sam (Portman), a blast of fresh air who helps him rediscover who he both was and is now.

Braff's writing and direction are strikingly confident--the film looks beautiful, with unhurried camerawork that lets the actors build very real characters, and humorous touches in every scene that catch us off guard and make us smile with recognition. OK, many of these hilariously offhanded elements may be a bit outside most peoples' life experiences! But Braff integrates them seamlessly into Andrew's journey, always in a telling, honest way. These jabs of comedy come in dialog and sight gags, usually when you're least expecting them, and never remotely what you expect.

The performances are excellent across the board. Braff is wonderful as the soul-searching man with enough fire inside to know he's very much alive. And Portman creates a woman anyone would fall instantly in love with--she's kinetic, funny, clever and best of all a compulsive liar. Throughout the film, the characters talk to each other in various levels of inebriation, and each conversation gives us increasingly astute glimpses into their minds. This is a strong, searching screenplay that only really falters when it tries to include a few too many cathartic emotional scenes near the end. At least they're well-written and played--but by this point maybe a more mature filmmaker would know that less actually says more.

IndigoJen, Los Angeles: "I loved it. The writing was great, and the performances were wonderful. While I had a little trouble with the way he went cold turkey off of all those drugs with no side effects, it made for a better story without that realism. The emergence of the real Largeman was captivating to watch. Zach Braff pulled it off. I'm looking forward to seeing more from him!" (14.Sep.04)