I finally saw Garden State tonight. I expected to be impressed, and it exceeded my expectations. Apparently Zach and I also share similar taste in music, since I was able to piece together a good bit of the soundtrack using my existing collection.

As is my habit, I returned home to read more about the movie on the Web. One of the first things I found (after the obligatory visit to IMDB) was Zach Braff's Blog. Being the geek I am, I found it particularly cool that Zach uses Perl, even if he doesn't know it. His blog is powered by TypePad, and if I were Mena or Ben, I'd be particularly proud of this. Here is a guy who has just written, directed, and starred in an amazing movie, and in between all of the traveling and PR, he is able to use his BlackBerry to keep a blog. If that's not a good testament to the convenience and practicality of TypePad, I don't know what is. He also seems to be appreciative of how the blog brings him closer to his audience, and he claims to read all the comments (he gets quite a few more than most of us geek bloggers).

Within his blog you'll find some gems that reveal his sense of humor:

Gas money: Some of you have asked me to reimburse you for the gas money you spent driving so far to see the film. This I can do. I have made an arrangement with every gas station in the country. (Except the Shell's in Raleigh; those guys bargain hard.) All you have to do is tell them that Zach Braff said you could have free gas to drive to see Garden State. If they look at you like, "What the fuck are you talking about?" Don't worry, that's just the code.

and some that reveal more than that:

When I wrote Garden State, I was completely depressed, waiting tables and lonesome as I've ever been in my life. The script was a way for me to articulate what I was feeling; alone, isolated, "a dime a dozen" and homesick for a place that didn't even exist. I guess one of the cool things about the success of Garden State is that those of you out there who are "in it" and feeling all these things, can take comfort in the fact that there are so many people commenting on this blog (including me) that can relate. And as lonely as you ever feel, you are not alone.

You have to respect someone this genuine, and I think his personality shines in this movie. I rarely blog about movies, but this is definitely one worth watching.