Harold and Kumar go to White Castle movie review
The 2004 Harold & Kumar comedy Go To White Castle stars John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Anthony Anderson and Fred Willard. Producers are Greg Shapiro and Nathan Kahane. It is directed by Danny Leiner.
The story focuses on two roommates, Harold and Kumar. Harold is a hard-working financial analyst, while Kumar tries to get into medical school. He has no desire to get into med school and only goes to interviews so his dad can keep paying for his apartment. One night they find themselves craving the “perfect meal”, White Castle Burgers. So they headed to the local White Castle only to find a different burger joint in the same location. The drive-thru guy tells Harold and Kumar about a 24-hour White Castle in nearby Cherry Hill. Along the way, they meet “weed”, a monster named Freakshow, a crooked cop, a gang that constantly taunts them, a shooting victim, and a drugged-up Neil Patrick Harris.
This movie is another example of how you can make a movie based on the most trivial tasks and make it fun. Here we see two guys who want to eat at White Castle. They go out and instead of driving straight to the location, they take a detour and end up running into all these interesting characters and dealing with some very unusual situations. For example, after Harold and Kumar get a flat tire, they meet a religious man who owns a tow truck. But this man is not just any man. He looks like a freak and is known as Freakshow. He speaks with a mountain accent and has boils on the side of his neck. Freakshow takes him to his place where he can fix his tire. Harold and Kumar are invited to come in and meet his equally ardent God-praising wife. Just as he is about to do them, Freakshow walks in and wants to have a foursome. The boys run out of the house in horror.
Another example is when Harold is arrested and taken to jail. He was trying to hit Kumar but missed and hit a policeman instead. The policeman puts Harold in jail with a quiet black man who tells him that he was arrested for being black. Soon, the cops are called to a shootout somewhere, leaving Harold and the man alone in their cell unattended. Kumar then sneaks through the air vent to let Harold out. He falls down the vent to the ground and takes the cell keys from him. But he gets distracted by a bag of marijuana on the cop’s desk. At this point, Harold is out of the cell, but the police return. They see the cell door open and assume the black man is resisting arrest because he is holding a book. The cops come in and check it out. Meanwhile, Harold and Kumar escape.
Despite its crude reputation, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle actually contains an important life lesson. You don’t have to settle for what you have if you want more. An example is when the boys arrive at the place where they thought there was a White Castle, but instead they find a restaurant called Burger Shack. Harold and Kumar are tempted to eat there, but the man at the window tells them about a 24-hour White Castle only 45 minutes away. They both agree to make the trip.
Later, after all they’ve been through, they consider just going home. But they see two of their friends eating at Hot Dog Heaven and remember what it’s like when a man gets exactly what he wants. Harold and Kumar decide that nothing will stop them from reaching White Castle and getting exactly what they want.
To finish, I think Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle is a classic. It’s hilarious and will make you want to watch it over and over again.