Barnes & Noble

Only someone who has feasted on the little square burgers sold by this venerable fast-food chain can truly appreciate the hypnotic spell they exert on hungry potheads like the titular duo of this funny little road movie that slyly explores the immigrant experience while never ruining the contact high of the stoner genre. Corporate drone (John Cho) and his underachieving roommate, Kumar (Kal Penn), come down with a bad case of the munchies one Friday night after smoking copious quantities of marijuana, and they determine that nothing will "hit the spot" except some White Castle burgers. What should have been an uneventful drive turns into a bona fide odyssey in which the pals confront a series of obstacles as bizarre as they are hilarious. On one level, director Danny Leiner's tale doesn't hold up to very close scrutiny: For one thing, the episodic plot, which unfolds entirely in northern and central New Jersey, doesn't abide by the physical laws of time and space. Supporting characters pop up in places they could not possibly have reached, given their appearance at earlier points in the story. And there's no way Harold and Kumar could have traversed the Garden State and hit certain specifically named locations within the period circumscribed by the script. But we quibble. Harold and Kumar offers plenty of entertainment and insight to those willing to overlook its little quirks. While fulfilling their mission to munch, our two first-generation American heroes are consistently insulted, stereotyped, and harassed for the unspeakable sin of looking different. Watching Cho and Penn endure these racist encounters makes them even more sympathetic, and points to a little documented American experience. It also reminds us that their cinematic stoner forbearers -- Cheech, Chong, Jeff Spicoli, Bill, and Ted -- never had to put up with this ugly vision of The Man. While most of the humor is sophomoric, and there's the usual quota of lowest-common-denominator gags, the movie is so good-natured that it's hard to level criticism. Nobody expects sophisticated banter from stoned 20-somethings, but this little movie sneaks a level of sophistication while remaining wonderfully stoopid. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Directed by Danny Leiner, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle follows the life-changing (and mind-altering) journey of Korean-American investment banker Harold (John Cho) and Indian-American medical-school candidate Kumar (Kal Penn). Both underdogs, Harold and Kumar decide to spend what would have been an otherwise uneventful Friday night satisfying an oddly intense urge for White Castle hamburgers. However, finding a White Castle proves a highly difficult task, and the two friends wind up on an epic road trip of deep thoughts, deeper inhaling, and enough half-baked, politically incorrect philosophizing to outweigh a White Castle value meal. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Product Details

• UPC: 794043114243
• Source: NEW LINE HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Special Edition, Uncensored
• Time: 1:30:00

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