Review: Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle

The title stoners (smart but irresponsible Kal Penn, bookish and buttoned-down John Cho) get the munchies and make a seemingly endless, increasingly surreal journey to the title hamburger joint (sadly one I’m not familiar with- it’s an American thing I guess). Eddie Kaye Thomas (AKA ‘Shitbrick’ himself) and David Krumholtz (the likeable geek from TV’s underrated “Numb3rs”) are a hoot as fellow stoners who decide not to join their pals because they wanna see Katie Holmes nude in “The Gift” (a moment that I, and probably many others ashamedly can relate to). Paula Garces is the sexy girl in shy Harold’s apartment building whom he dares not talk to. Ryan Reynolds plays a bizarro doctor, Anthony Anderson is pretty funny as a fast food worker who actually recommends the competition, Christopher Meloni gets away with murder as a grossly disfigured (and just plain gross) guy the boys hitch a ride with (wait till you see his wife!), and the indispensable Fred Willard is a med school Dean whom Penn’s Kumar makes a seriously bad impression with (very funny scene, though more Willard, as always, would’ve been greatly appreciated).

 

The director of the lame, one-note “Dude, Where’s My Car?” Danny Leiner surprised me with this dopey but genuinely funny 2004 stoner comedy. It not only boasts fine lead performances by Penn and Cho, but an array of funny smaller turns, especially a show-stopping, slightly surreal turn by former child star Neil Patrick Harris, as a tripped-out, horny version of himself.

 

It’s not “The Importance of Being Earnest” (some of the guest roles don’t work, for instance, Jamie Kennedy and Ryan Reynolds), but funny is funny, and this one will make you laugh, and then feel embarrassed for laughing. But that’s OK. Scripted by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who even throw in one of the better fart gags I’ve come across in a while. It sure beats “Dude, Where’s My Car?” (and even features an in-joke concerning that film). 

 

Rating: B-