Raise your hand if you decided not to see Garden State because it starred "that guy from Scrubs." Everyone who just raised his hand: you are under strict orders to march straight to the closest movie theater showing the film, buy a ticket and watch.

Garden State is already being heralded as this year's Lost In Translation, an emotional and mature movie for early 20-somethings to watch and relate to. It is praised for its cutting humor, sight gags and fantastic performances. But the most important thing to realize is that Garden State is far more than the sum of its parts.

The movie documents the emotional awakening of Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff, Scrubs), who returns to his hometown in New Jersey following the death of his paraplegic mother, who has drowned in her bathtub. Largeman hasn't seen his family in nine years, since he finished boarding school and moved to Los Angeles where he played a "retarded quarterback" in a movie and keeps a day job at an extremely pretentious Vietnamese restaurant, where servers offer patrons sparkling or flat water from buckets carried over their shoulders, and where Largeman is required to wear Asian-inspired eyeliner. Largeman also decides to stop taking the myriad psychiatric medication that his father has prescribed for him since he was nine, resulting in short but powerful headaches. These headaches lead him to see a doctor, in whose waiting room he meets Sam (Natalie Portman, Cold Mountain), a compulsive liar. After he gives her a ride home that afternoon, they begin a tentative romance.

The cast is filled out by Largeman's friends from home, a hilarious crew comprised mostly of Mark (Peter Sarsgaard, Shattered Glass), a gravedigger who is desperately trying to live up to his somewhat-reckless mother's standards without adopting her ideas, and Jesse (Armando Riesco, Pieces of April), who became a multi-millionaire after he invented "silent Velcro." The three of them enjoy several eccentric adventures, including an ecstasy-fueled spin-the-bottle-induced orgy, the shooting of a flaming arrow straight in the air and dodging it, and a pool scene where Largeman's inability to swim is painfully exposed.

There is also a revolving cast of supporting characters who wander in and out of the plot: Largeman's father Gideon (Ian Holm, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King), who is alternately touching and infuriatingly stubborn. Method Man makes a fantastic appearance as Diego, a hotel-worker who supplies some of the funniest and most memorable dialogue in the movie. There's also a family who lives in a boat at the bottom of a giant recently-discovered ravine, not to mention the ravine itself.

The performances in Garden State are masterfully done all around, without any glaring stars or flops. Natalie Portman delivers a dually touching and painfully awkward performance as Sam, who is terribly self-conscious and disarming at the same time. The interaction between her character and Braff's subdued and confused Largeman begins somewhat painfully, but eventually becomes endearing and even cute. Even better are the scenes between Braff and Sarsgaard, which make the movie's protagonist seem as flawed and human as the other characters.

The ultimate accolades, however, are reserved for Braff alone. He wrote, directed and starred in Garden State, his first real motion picture. Before this, he was known mainly for his somewhat annoying character on Scrubs; in Garden State he has established himself as an emotionally complex actor, a scrupulous and attentive writer, and a brilliant director. Some of Garden State's biggest strengths are the sight gags which punctuate an otherwise serious movie with huge laughs; they are Braff's creation, and he should be proud. He also sculpted a brilliant soundtrack that weaves in and out of the film as naturally as music does in real life: It's heard over the radio on his motorcycle, and through the headphones that Sam gives him so he can listen to a song that will "change [his] life." The soundtrack features works by such up-and-coming popsters as The Shins and Iron and Wine (who beautifully cover the Postal Service song "Such Great Heights,") as well as classic folk-pop artists like Nick Drake and Simon & Garfunkel.

Garden State has it all: humor, romance, intelligence and complexity. It doesn't shy away from its plot or subject matter just because it is Braff's debut movie. He takes risks in all his roles, as do the other actors he has cast. The result isn't necessarily for everyone, but if you're looking for a film to feed your head and still leave you with good feelings at the end, Garden State is a pretty safe bet.