Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
Directed by: Danny Leiner
Premise: Just like it sounds. Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) get high on marijuana and decide to take a short road trip to get burgers from White Castle, a fast food restaurant.
What Works: Not a whole lot. There are a few laughs in the picture when it waxes satirical such as a parody of an anti-drug commercial involving two pot-smoking teens and a shotgun. There are also some positive moments in which the film pokes fun at racial stereotypes. Unfortunately, these don’t come nearly often enough.
What Doesn’t: The film’s attempt to be a fusion of Dude, Where’s My Car, Road Trip, and the Cheech and Chong movies falls flat. It is just not that funny. On top of that, the characters are totally uninteresting and even the drug humor does not work. The film lacks the poetry of idiocy that Cheech and Chong and Dumb and Dumber do so well.
Bottom Line: Cho and Penn seem like competent actors, but they have been given little to work with. Even if you are a stoner yourself, give this movie a pass.
Episode: #14 (August 15, 2004)