Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle

Cast: John Cho, Kal Penn, Paula Garcès, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Neil Patrick Harris, David Krumholtz, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Reynolds, Fred Willard, Sandy Jobin-Bevans
Director: Danny Leiner
Writers: Hayden Schlossberg & Jonathan Hurwitz
Genre: Comedy
Rated: MA sexual references, drug use, medium level coarse language
Running Time: 88 Minutes

Fast Food. High Times.

Synopsis:
In the great cinematic tradition of 'Road Trip' and 'Dude, Where's My Car' comes 'Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle', which follows two likeable underdogs who set out on a Friday night quest to satisfy their craving for White Castle hamburgers and end up on an epic journey of deep thoughts, deeper inhaling and a wild road trip as un-PC as it gets. John Cho ('American Pie 1 & 2') and Kal Penn ('Malibu's Most Wanted') take on the title roles in the film directed by Danny Leiner ('Dude, Where's My Car?') written by Hayden Schlossberg & Jonathan Hurwitz.

My Verdict:
'Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle' is your by the numbers road trip come buddy movie. Harold (John Cho) and Kumar ( Kal Penn) are pals who live together and appear as if they have been friends forever which is the only way they could put up with each others idiosyncrasies. Harold is a clean, neat freak, whilst Kumar is your sloppy, slack, lets-worry-about-that-later type person. On this particular Friday night, they get a bad case of marijuana-induced munchies which they decide will only be satisfied by a trip to a White Castle store - a hamburger joint. And it has to be White Castle, not any other fast food outlet will do. Of course, getting there is the fun part, as the boys somehow manage to turn a simple trip into an epic adventure.

On this trip to White Castle, which is only meant to last 45 minutes but ultimately takes all night, Harold and Kumar have a series of escapades, which often bear no relation to one another, they just seem to be there because they might be funny or gross or something! Highlights include their meeting with a character called Freakshow (Christopher Meloni), who is a sight to behold and helps them with a flat tyre, and an episode with a very racist cop, Officer Palumbo (Sandy Jobin-Bevans), who appears out of nowhere as Harold makes a rare attempt at j-walking. Some of the gags are a tad lame - riding a cheetah through the forest being one example but they end and you move onto the next.

Issues are addressed such as racism, culture and ethnicity but they are not overtly dealt with and so are relatively light. There is a very small attempt to throw in some morals at the end, maybe more so to finish it neatly than for necessity. There is also a very easy avenue for another Harold & Kumar adventure made clear at the conclusion of the movie. For some strange reason, I couldn't help but like this movie even though it was irreverent, vulgar, crass and ultimately a crude movie. Oh and don't be put off by the title!

Rating : B-

Christina Bruce