 Forget
Fahrenheit 9/11 and The
Passion of the Christ.
The most
controversial movie of the year is finally here, and boy, is it
a doobie…er, I mean, a doozie! Boasting top-notch production values,
groundbreaking special effects, Oscar-caliber performances and
a timeless political message, Harold & Kumar Go to White
Castle just might be one of the most important movies ever
made!
Okay, so
you’d have to be fairly high on dope to believe that any of that
is actually true, but the movie is still pretty damn funny. Picking
up the bong…um, I mean, the ball where the Cheech and Chong movies
dropped it so many years ago, Harold and Kumar is so good-natured,
silly and side-splitingly entertaining that it almost defies criticism.
Harold Lee
(John Cho) is a career-minded pushover who needs to lighten up.
His laid back roommate Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) couldn’t care less
about his career and is quite happy getting stoned all the time.
When a nighttime pot-smoking binge leads to a serious case of
the munchies, Harold and Kumar set out for the only food that
will hit the spot – those world famous White Castle burgers. What
starts off as a routine food run turns into the adventure of a
lifetime, as Harold and Kumar refuse to let anything get in their
way in their quest for the ultimate tasty dish.
You know
what you’re in for with a title like Harold & Kumar Go
to White Castle and a director whose resume includes 2000’s
Dude, Where’s My Car, but the movie still defies expectations
in a lot of ways. Just when you think you’ve seen it all in terms
of vulgarity and gross-out humor, the film contains several boundary-pushing
scenes that will make you slap your head with disbelief. Political
correctness is kicked to the curb in favor of mercilessly crass
dialogue, and some of the dream sequences are so far out that
you can’t help but wonder what the filmmakers were smoking when
they came up with this stuff.
Yet through
it all, a subtle message involving racism manages to break through
to the fore. Harold and Kumar are just as divided in their lifestyles
as they are in their backgrounds, yet they stick together no matter
what, despite getting sidetracked all the time. And given how
honest some of the dialogue is when it comes to the absurdity
of intolerance, the result is a film that’s actually a lot smarter
than it first appears.
John Cho
and Kal Penn have loads of chemistry as the hapless stoner buds,
and they also seem to be having a blast with the various supporting
players who make cameo appearances. Keep an eye out for Anthony
Anderson as a drive-thru clerk, Ryan Reynolds as a flamboyant
male nurse and Neil Patrick "Doogie Howser" Harris as
a strung-out version of himself. And just when you think you’ve
seen it all, try and recognize Christopher Meloni, who shows up
as a repugnant auto mechanic named Freakshow who has a total sexpot
for a wife.
Obviously,
I enjoyed the hell out of Harold & Kumar, but is
it the type of movie that I’d suggest to my parents? Not by a
long shot. Is it the type of movie that I’d recommend to sophisticated
film snobs? No, I probably wouldn’t do that either. Is it the
type of movie that I’d turn on to undemanding moviegoers who are
just out to have a good time? Absolutely!
And if you
aren’t one of those people, then…well, I guess there’s always
The Passion of the Christ or Fahrenheit 9/11.
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