Released: July 30th,
2004
Rated: R
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Starring: John Cho, Kal Penn
Directed by: Danny Leiner
Written by: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
Personal Bias Alert: not into stoner comedies, first saw the film in college
6.5 of 10
Certain
genres have an optimum viewing age, and stoner comedies are certainly one of
the most distinct. They play best for
those in their teen and early twenties, preferably at night after some frivolous
consumption and in a group. You should
be loose and paling around when you take in these delectable treats, and once
you find the handful that your group likes, you should wear out their welcome
until the laughs are ingrained in your brain.
That’s the kind of cultural impact that the best stoner comedies achieve,
a fervent following from a very particular demographic, and that’s precisely
what Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle managed
to do.
The
premise of the movie is in the title, except the part where the young men’s hankering
comes from smoking weed, but the entire movie is, in fact, about roommates
Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) going to White Castle. This proves to be a difficult task as
apparently there weren’t many White Castles in New Jersey circa 2004 (I
checked, there’s a bunch along their route now). As is wont to happen in these movies, detours
and hijinks ensue, elongating their meal-time side quest into an epic
journey. Minor characters are constantly
popping in and out of the story (including a parody version of Neil Patrick
Harris, who at the time hadn’t bounced back from Doogie Howser, M.D.), but the only two who stay around are Harold
and Kumar, making their chemistry absolutely essential to the film’s success. Writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg
craft an odd couple that absolutely would hang out together, and Cho and Penn
nail the characters to the film’s zany wall.
Its remarkable how there are no missteps between these two characters,
always believably staying friends and following each other’s lead as their
situation changes. This bulletproof
friendship is why the film connected with all the late-night groups, feeding
off the goodwill such meandering nights instill.
Unfortunately,
what also accompanies these sorts of films is a gargantuan amount of gross-out
humor, a brand that won’t work for everyone, myself included. In fact, most of the humor in Harold and Kumar is hit and miss, with
their long road trip taking them through numerous skit-like asides that might
have you busting with laughter or groaning from boredom. Your particular sense of humor will determine
which bits are memorable, but the writers cram in so many to choose from that a
few are bound to hit your funny bone. You’re
just as likely to find yourself drifting off, though, during which time you
should grab some munchies for yourself and return once the humor comes back to
your taste. You won’t have missed
anything important.
There’s
really only one intelligent thing that Harold
and Kumar does, and it permeates the film from beginning to end. It’s cognizant of the fact that, despite just
wanting to toke up and get some burgers, Harold and Kumar will constantly be
treated differently because of their Asian ethnicities. This is mined for laughter, but always at the
expense of the characters being racist.
Never does the film turn on these two men, and the characters’
nonchalant acceptance of these occurrences are a political statement in and of
itself. Eventually, both Harold and
Kumar do acknowledge the role these perceptions have played in their lives, and
each take small steps to combat them.
After all, they just want the American dream: life, liberty, and the pursuit of a good high.
Other
Notes:
Ø The
effects are atrocious, but I don’t think they really cared.
Ø Could
any of you tell that Freakshow was played by Law and Order: SVU and Oz alum Christopher Meloni? I sure as hell couldn’t.
Ø This
movie will live on in the history books as the first rated R film to be
advertised on fast food containers (White Castle, of course).
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