Movies |
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
directed by Danny Leiner
By
Published: Jan 01, 2005
Category:
Comedy
I have come to trumpet the virtues of another dumb comedy — this time, a film made by the director of “Dude, Where’s My Car?” Yes, Head Butler, defender of all that is good and noble. Head Butler, who loves crystalline writing and rapier wit and high purpose. That Butler.
But as Samuel Johnson — maker of the dictionary and legendary essayist — liked to say, “No man is a hypocrite in his pleasures.” Not me, anyway. So deal with this: “Harold and Kumar” is a stoner movie. And I love stoner movies.
This is, in part, a function of age: I was in college when Cheech and Chong were big. At Harvard, in fact. So it was a special thrill to amble down to the Harvard Square cinema and — surrounded by brainiacs — watch two idiots make fools of themselves. These guys were in the “C” pantheon for me: Cheech, Chong and Charlie Chaplin.
Harold and Kumar are even better characters than Cheech and Chong. For one obvious reason — they’re smart. As “everybody” knows, Korean-Americans and Indian-Americans are great students and solid workers, and these two are no exception. Kumar has perfect MCAT scores; the only thing keeping him out of med school is his attitude. And no young investment banker can crunch the numbers better than Harold.
So they can think fast and talk witty. Nice. “Innovative,” even. But, like Cheech and Chong, they’re stoners. (As the movie begins, an off-screen voice lets us in on the joke: “Jeez, the movie’s starting, and I haven’t had a hit.”) Soon enough, they’re inhaling about a quarter ounce of primo weed. And they’re deciding that the night won’t be complete without a dozen or so “sliders” — and you do know why they’re called that, right? — at White Castle. [To stream the film from Amazon Prime, click here.]
At this point, “Harold and Kumar” becomes a seemingly random “quest movie” — like “Lord of the Rings,” just extremely bent. The fact is, White Castles are few and far between in New Jersey. And odd things happen that take the boys off the right road and headed toward — oh, Princeton.
It is at Princeton that a scene occurs which will pretty much decide the film’s merits for you. During a hunt for more dope, Harold and Kumar meet some hot Princeton babes who make it clear they’d like nothing better than to get it on. Just then the campus cop sees the boys completing a dope buy. Harold and Kumar escape by hiding in the center stall of the women’s bathroom. The two blondes enter, complaining about the tacos they’ve eaten that day. They go into stalls on either side of the one in which Harold and Kumar are hiding. And then….
And then Mrs. B and I were gasping for air. Weeping with laughter. Screaming “no,…no!” even as we wiped our eyes to see what greater outrage might come next.
And outrage does. “Doogie Howser” appears. A skateboard gang shows up. There’s a car crash. And more.
To their great credit, White Castle never recedes as a grail. You believe Harold and Kumar are gonna make it, and they do — and you know, as the climax of a movie, it’s really satisfying to watch young men consume a stack of burgers apiece. Kind of makes the night worthwhile.
Did this film make a ton of money in theatres? Don’t know. Don’t care. It will make a fortune as a DVD. Because it’s not a one-time renter. This is the movie you break out when old friends drop in. If they’re in a hurry, just tee up the Princeton sequence — your friends will thank you. Or they won’t. In which case you can quietly cross them off the Christmas card list and move on to people who like to bust a gut laughing.
Which camp are you in? Only one way to find out. Press PLAY.
