Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

United States of America

Comedy, Adventure

New Line Cinema, Senator International, Kingsgate Films, Endgame Entertainment

John Cho, Kal Penn, Paula Garcés, Neil Patrick Harris, David Krumholtz, Malin Åkerman

Danny Leiner

Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg

Taglines: Fast food. High times.

sibling relationship, new jersey, amsterdam, netherlands, road trip, cannabis, pot smoking, marijuana, police chase, east asian lead, buddy, stoner, fast food, one night, buddy comedy, munchies, crop circle, rich parents, car siren, blood spurting

Nerdy accountant Harold and his irrepressible friend, Kumar, get stoned watching television and find themselves utterly bewitched by a commercial for White Castle. Convinced there must be one nearby, the two set out on a late-night odyssey that takes them deep into New Jersey. Somehow, the boys manage to run afoul of rednecks, cops and even a car-stealing Neil Patrick Harris before getting anywhere near their beloved sliders.

Reviews:

Author: Kamurai
Decent watch, could watch again, and can recommend. I'm not a fan of drug humor, "because he's HIGH" isn't a good enough joke to me, but this felt like a spiritual successor to "Dumb and Dumber" (another movie that is funny, but I'm not a huge fan of). John Cho and Kal Penn work amazingly together, so much so that I'm honestly surprised there isn't a web series of "Harold and Kumar" skits (and if there are, then happy day) trying to wring blood from stone. The story has a great structure: a clear antagonist, clear love interest, a goal, plenty of adversity, and lots of quality character interaction. The problem with the content is that it's a series of ever increasing ridiculous events. The continuity suffers a bit, but its done so well that it feels seemless in the moment. The comedy writing is good enough that it holds up over 16 years, the majority of which is really funny. It's not so funny that this is an amazing movie, but it definitely makes it work a watch.