It's appreciable that writers Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg and director Danny Leiner are among those keeping the stoner comedy alive and kicking in the 21st century. It stars the personable, and genuinely funny, pair of John Cho and Kal Penn as Harold and Kumar, two fun loving guys who inevitably get the munchies after getting high, deciding that White Castle will be their destination for the night. As the viewer might expect, on their way to the ultimate meal they will experience one setback after another, in the tradition of misadventure comedy such as "Adventures in Babysitting" and "License to Drive". Episodes include their meeting with Neil Patrick Harris, playing a crazed, perverted version of himself, their having to improvise like mad when they're mistaken for doctors, their encounter with a character named "Freakshow" (a memorable Christopher Meloni), their repeated confrontations with a punk gang who use a certain word EXTREMEly frequently, and other assorted escapades. Heavily satirical as well as rude, crude, and outrageous, one can see that there's more going on here than just lowbrow comedy (and it does get very low, as witness the "battle *beep*" sequence in the washroom), as it pokes merciless fun at stereotyping. Leiner, cast, and crew take an amazing "everything and the kitchen sink" approach to their wild and witty movie, throwing in things like animation and utter nonsense involving a possibly rabid raccoon. The soundtrack is full of catchy tunes and the pacing is consistently effective. A few cameos add to the fun factor; in addition to Harris, we get to see Fred Willard, Anthony Anderson, an uncredited Jamie Kennedy, Ethan Embry, and Ryan Reynolds; other familiar faces include David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Shaun Majumder, and Boyd Banks, with lovely Paula Garces and Malin Akerman as Maria and Liane, respectively. There's even a message about learning to stand up for oneself, and having confidence, in the end. One can't help but feel good for our leads when things go their way and laugh at the misfortunes they endure. Cho mostly plays straight to the more zany Penn, but they both earn a nice number of laughs with their performances. All in all, this is a decent diversion that always manages to come up with some great bits of business and is anything but boring. Seven out of 10.
Review of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
