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Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (2004)
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Reviews Counted:143
Fresh:105
Rotten:38
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: The likable leads and subversion of racial stereotypes elevate Harold and Kumar above the typical stoner comedy.
Runtime: 88 mins
Genre: Comedies
US Box Office: $18,225,165
Synopsis: Following up his hit DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR? writer-director Danny Leiner has come up with the riotous road-trip comedy HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE. Harold (John Cho) has graduated college and... Following up his hit DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR? writer-director Danny Leiner has come up with the riotous road-trip comedy HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE. Harold (John Cho) has graduated college and is now working at a cubicle, where he is abused by other workers and forced to do their jobs for them. Kumar (Kal Penn) is expected to go to medical school to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother, but he'd rather spend his time partying. The entire film takes place in one night, as wild Kumar is determined to get a sack of burgers at White Castle, even though his more staid roommate would prefer to stay home and finish a project for his officemates. While Kumar seeks fun and adventure, lusting after nearly every woman he meets, Harold dreams only of Maria (Paula Garces), the woman down the hall whom he likes but is too afraid to talk to. Harold & Kumar's excellent adventure includes an outrageous bathroom scene in a college; a cop who takes his job way too seriously; a group of extreme, rad dudes who harass Harold, Kumar, and a convenience store manager; LAW & ORDER: SVU's Chris Meloni as an incredibly disgusting possible psycho; and Neil Patrick Harris playing himself, making fun of his Doogie Howser image. In addition to plenty of raunchy--and very funny--references to sex, drugs, and rock & roll, Leiner also takes on stereotypes and the meaning of love. [More]
Starring: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Malin Akerman
Starring: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Malin Akerman, David Krumholtz, Paula Garces, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Siu Ta, Sandy Jobin-Bevans, Christopher Meloni, Gary Anthony Williams, Bobbi Lee, Fred Willard, Steve Braun, Ethan Embry, Luis Guzman, Jamie Kennedy
Director: Danny Leiner
Director: Danny Leiner
Screenwriter: Jonathan Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
Producer: Greg Shapiro, Nathan Kahane
Composer: David Kitay
Studio: New Line Cinema
Reviews for Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle is the latest multicultural variant of the lowbrow buddy comedy in which the heroes just want to get high and laid.
While not as outlandishly contrived as director Danny Leiner's Dude, Where's My Car? H&K is about as barely funny and just as hard to believe.
Features quite possibly the worst, most unfunny scene of the 2004 film year.
Has enough laughs and misadventures to satisfy its built-in audience, but it won't win any converts.
In those rare instances when it's not being a dumb comedy, Harold and Kumar is a rather crafty satire of racial stereotypes (which, it must be said, traffics in a few stereotypes of its own).
Repeatedly, as per road-movie formula, Harold and Kumar come to expect sex and/or druggy delirium, only to be disappointed.
...the movie has delivery that often overshadows the punch lines, and it's not very accessible.
The multicultural cast gives a shred of substance to what's otherwise a standard adolescent gross-out flick.
A little more disturbing than it intends to be, and in the amateurish hands of director Danny Leiner (Dude, Where's My Car) not as funny as it might have been.
The laugh ratio in this run-on of skits is pretty low, at least to the unaltered mind of one who's seen enough of these films and eaten enough White Castle burgers to last a lifetime.
Latest News for Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
April 08, 2009:
Kal Penn Trades Acting for Public Service ![]()
"Harold and Kumar" star Kal Penn has given up acting -- but rather than pursuing a new career in hip-hop, Penn will be joining the Obama administration as the new associate... More...
July 25, 2008:
Mandate Greenlights Harold and Kumar 3 ![]()
They've gone to White Castle and escaped from Guantanamo Bay, but they aren't done yet: there's a Harold and Kumar 3 in the works. More...
April 24, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Odd Couples Invade Multiplexes
Two new buddy comedies enter the marketplace during the final weekend of the spring box office hoping to cash in on what business is left in the last week before Iron Man flies... More...
October 12, 2007:
Star Trek XI Finds Its Scotty, Sulu
J.J. Abrams' Starfleet roster is quickly filling up.
Hot on the heels of this week's news that Eric Bana has signed on to play the heavy in Star Trek XI, The Hollywood... More...
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