The Garden State Movies
by Hoekkie | created - 17 Jan 2018 | updated - 13 Apr 2018 | PublicThe Garden State is the nickname of New Jersey. In 1787 it became the 3rd state of the United States of America. These movies have a connection with New Jersey. It's a topic in the story or they are (partially) filmed in New Jersey.
Which movie (or movie poster) do you associate the most with New Jersey?
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1. Garden State (2004)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A quietly troubled young man returns home for his mother's funeral after being estranged from his family for a decade.
Director: Zach Braff | Stars: Zach Braff, Peter Sarsgaard, Natalie Portman, Ian Holm
Votes: 223,177 | Gross: $26.78M
2. Clerks (1994)
R | 92 min | Comedy
A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.
Director: Kevin Smith | Stars: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonauer
Votes: 232,299 | Gross: $3.15M
3. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 986,641 | Gross: $170.74M
4. The Station Agent (2003)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama
When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
Director: Tom McCarthy | Stars: Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale, Paul Benjamin
Votes: 73,381 | Gross: $5.74M
5. Jersey Girl (2004)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A widower must look after his precocious daughter and rebuild his life and career after he's sidelined by an unexpected tragedy and a personal blowup.
Director: Kevin Smith | Stars: Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Raquel Castro, Betty Aberlin
Votes: 70,452 | Gross: $25.27M
6. New Jersey Drive (1995)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama
Jason and Midget are two young, black teenagers living in Newark,New Jersey, the unofficial car theft capital of the world. Their favourite pastime is that of everybody in their ... See full summary »
Director: Nick Gomez | Stars: Shar-Ron Corley, Gabriel Casseus, Saul Stein, Gwen McGee
Votes: 3,452 | Gross: $3.57M
7. Cop Land (1997)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The Sheriff of a suburban New Jersey community, populated by New York City police officers, slowly discovers the town is a front for mob connections and corruption.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro
Votes: 106,330 | Gross: $44.89M
8. Chasing Amy (1997)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Holden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything's going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.
Director: Kevin Smith | Stars: Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Ethan Suplee, Scott Mosier
Votes: 143,766 | Gross: $12.02M
9. American Hustle (2013)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama
A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild F.B.I. Agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and the Mafia.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence
Votes: 500,259 | Gross: $150.12M
10. Patti Cake$ (2017)
R | 109 min | Drama, Music
PATTI CAKE$ is centered on aspiring rapper Patricia Dombrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$, who is fighting an unlikely quest for glory in her downtrodden hometown in New Jersey.
Director: Geremy Jasper | Stars: Danielle Macdonald, Sahr Ngaujah, Bridget Everett, Mamoudou Athie
Votes: 10,525 | Gross: $0.80M
11. Jersey Boys (2014)
R | 134 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s rock group The Four Seasons.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Vincent Piazza
Votes: 36,557 | Gross: $47.03M
12. Be Kind Rewind (2008)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy
Two bumbling store clerks inadvertently erase the footage from all of the tapes in their video rental store. In order to keep the business running, they re-shoot every film in the store with their own camera, with a budget of zero dollars.
Director: Michel Gondry | Stars: Jack Black, Yasiin Bey, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow
Votes: 94,266 | Gross: $11.17M
13. Baby It's You (1983)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In a 1966 New Jersey high school, Jill and new student Sheik from the other side of the tracks make their way in a first love romance.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, Joanna Merlin, Jack Davidson
Votes: 2,148 | Gross: $1.87M
14. Paterson (2016)
R | 118 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A quiet observation of the triumphs and defeats of daily life, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Nellie, Rizwan Manji
Votes: 88,913 | Gross: $2.14M
15. Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Drama
An awkward seventh-grader struggles to cope with inattentive parents, snobbish class-mates, a smart older brother, an attractive younger sister and her own insecurities in suburban New Jersey.
Director: Todd Solondz | Stars: Heather Matarazzo, Christina Brucato, Victoria Davis, Christina Vidal
Votes: 37,157 | Gross: $4.77M
16. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
PG | 82 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
In 1935 New Jersey, a movie character walks off the screen and into the real world.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, Danny Aiello, Irving Metzman
Votes: 55,248 | Gross: $10.63M
17. The Prowler (1981)
R | 89 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An unknown killer, clad in World War II U.S. Army fatigues, stalks a small California town, bent on reliving a 35 year-old double murder by focusing on a group of college kids holding an annual graduation dance.
Director: Joseph Zito | Stars: Vicky Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Lawrence Tierney, Farley Granger
Votes: 12,996
18. The Oranges (2011)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The enduring friendship between the Walling and Ostroff families is tested when Nina, the prodigal Ostroff daughter, returns home for the holidays after a five-year absence and enters into an affair with David, head of the Walling family.
Director: Julian Farino | Stars: Leighton Meester, Hugh Laurie, Catherine Keener, Allison Janney
Votes: 13,526 | Gross: $0.36M
19. Friday the 13th (1980)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.
Director: Sean S. Cunningham | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan
Votes: 157,385 | Gross: $39.75M
20. Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)
PG | 95 min | Drama, Music, Mystery
A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.
Director: Martin Davidson | Stars: Tom Berenger, Michael Paré, Joe Pantoliano, Matthew Laurance
Votes: 8,461 | Gross: $4.79M
21. The Wrestler (2008)
R | 109 min | Drama, Sport
A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis
Votes: 319,891 | Gross: $26.24M
22. I.Q. (1994)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Romance
A mechanic romances the mathematician niece of physicist Albert Einstein, with help from him and his friends.
Director: Fred Schepisi | Stars: Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan, Walter Matthau, Lou Jacobi
Votes: 26,633 | Gross: $26.37M
23. The Family Man (2000)
PG-13 | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Téa Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven
Votes: 119,353 | Gross: $75.79M
24. Lean on Me (1989)
PG-13 | 108 min | Drama
The dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school he is determined to improve by any and all means.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, Robert Guillaume, Alan North
Votes: 22,975 | Gross: $31.91M
25. The Hurricane (1999)
R | 146 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Denzel Washington, Vicellous Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber
Votes: 102,444 | Gross: $50.67M
26. Sherrybaby (2006)
R | 96 min | Drama
Sherry tries to integrate again into society and become a good mother.
Director: Laurie Collyer | Stars: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Bottoms, Michelle Hurst
Votes: 12,063 | Gross: $0.20M
27. Swimfan (2002)
PG-13 | 85 min | Drama, Thriller
A high school senior with a promising swimming career has a one-night stand with consequences.
Director: John Polson | Stars: Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, Shiri Appleby, Kate Burton
Votes: 21,202 | Gross: $28.56M
28. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004)
PG | 89 min | Comedy, Family, Music
A teenage girl is convinced that her home city revolves around her until her family packs up and moves to the suburbs, where she finds herself competing for attention.
Director: Sara Sugarman | Stars: Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headly
Votes: 31,310 | Gross: $29.33M
29. Something Wild (1986)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance
A free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband shows up.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, George 'Red' Schwartz, Leib Lensky
Votes: 21,076 | Gross: $8.36M
30. The Hindenburg (1975)
Approved | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, History
A chronicle of the Hindenburg disaster in which a zeppelin burst into flames.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, William Atherton, Roy Thinnes
Votes: 6,585 | Gross: $27.95M
31. Wilson (1944)
Passed | 154 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of the political career of US President Woodrow Wilson.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Alexander Knox, Charles Coburn, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 1,695 | Gross: $2.00M
32. Don Jon (2013)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love.
Director: Joseph Gordon-Levitt | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza
Votes: 247,014 | Gross: $24.48M
33. The Cookout (2004)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy
Todd Anderson's life changes overnight when he signs a $30 million contract with the NBA. Determined not to forget who he is and where he's from, he throws a cookout for his family and friends from the hood, in his new neighborhood.
Director: Lance Rivera | Stars: Quran Pender, Jenifer Lewis, Ja Rule, Tim Meadows
Votes: 3,215 | Gross: $11.54M
34. Jersey Shore Massacre (2014)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Horror
A typical weekend down the shore takes a bizarre turn as six girls and five obnoxious fist-pumpers become the unsuspecting targets of a deranged killer.
Director: Paul Tarnopol | Stars: Danielle Dallacco, Angelica Boccella, Giovanni Roselli, Chris Lazzaro
Votes: 1,420
35. Gracie (2007)
PG-13 | 95 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Grace, a football enthusiast, fights an uphill battle to play in the boys' varsity team of her high school and gain support for women's soccer while dealing with the death of her brother.
Director: Davis Guggenheim | Stars: Carly Schroeder, Andrew Shue, Elisabeth Shue, Jesse Lee Soffer
Votes: 4,328 | Gross: $2.96M
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