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A Schwag Tale
Stoner adventure goes ’round in circles
by Clint Casey
Shock value has been rising steadily with the recent spike in the number of gross-out flicks and edgy comics. The Farrelly and Weitz brothers raised the bar by making taboos commonplace, with There’s Something about Mary and the American Pie trilogy, respectively. And, Dave Chappelle effectively tackles stereotypes and racial profiling with humor and heart on his weekly Comedy Central show.
In Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, a pair of 20-something New Yorkers spend dusk ‘til dawn in search of the eponymous fast-food joint and are confronted by discrimination and ridiculous, stomach-churning obstacles. Harold (John Cho), a Korean investment banker, and Kumar (Kal Penn), an Indian medical school candidate, are roommates who share an endearing relationship with marijuana, and, after a television commercial for White Castle, the two embark on a quest that rivals The Lord of the Rings in scope.
The first stop on the whirlwind trip is Princeton, where Harold and Kumar find Cindy Kim, a friend they think can help them end their pot shortage. Cindy heads an Asian student organization at the university and has a crush on Harold. In their discussions, the relatively quiet group personifies Asian stereotypes. While Harold suffers through the organization’s meeting, Kumar meets a Phish-loving hippie with a backpack full of dope that snookers him into paying too much for a bag in the name of supply and demand.
When they sample their purchase in a stairwell, the police run them off campus and on to their next mini-adventure. After Harold and Kumar run into a creepy stranger during a roadside bathroom break, a wild animal climbs in the car and nearly causes them to crash into their Jewish and probably homosexual neighbors. From there, Harold and Kumar continues on a long downhill slide, with hillbillies, hang gliding and hamburgers.
Primarily the film is a series of comedic skits that flow relatively seamlessly, leaning on one another with references to early sketches and characters arising later in the film. Obnoxious, “totally extreme” neighbors terrorize Harold and Kumar throughout the movie, and Neil Patrick Harris (from TV’s Doogie Howser, M.D.), playing himself, pops up at inopportune times.
In the Chappelle tradition, all races and stereotypes are approached with brutal, sardonic honesty. However, the punch of conversations drizzled with ethnic slurs wears off quickly. It’s jarring to hear Harold called a “Twinkie,” slang for an Asian person who’s “yellow on the outside and white on the inside,” and Jewish neighbors describe Katie Holmes’ breasts as the “opposite of the Holocaust” with such irreverence.
Once the tension from racial and ethnic jokes breaks, the movie is left wallowing in drug references, gross-out jokes and absurd situations: dueling bowel movements between sorority girls and a sexual fantasy sequence between Kumar and a bag of weed.
It becomes obvious that the team responsible for the movie has been paying close attention to films in the same lowbrow genre. On-screen gags are tweaked slightly but replicated enough to be recognizable. A wild raccoon loose in a moving vehicle is reminiscent of the deer scene in Tommy Boy, and pot-smoking sequences reek of Half-Baked.
The first quarter of the movie is surprisingly funny, but it loses steam when the same jokes are employed repeatedly without the same intended effect. However, Harold and Kumar’s social commentary is where its heart lies—encouraging people under scrutiny to know when to stand up for themselves and when to walk away. During a brief stay in a prison, a fellow inmate advises Harold to ignore racist groups with mob mentalities, that the “universe tends to unfold as it should.” And, the generally soft-spoken Harold realizes the importance of going after what he wants.
Overall, though, the movie is mostly forgettable—and probably more enjoyable under the influence. Just take it from a post on a college website that reads, “Oh man. There was an advanced screening of Harold and Kumar tonight, and it was awesome, given that half the audience was stoned beyond reason and laughing at parts that weren’t funny.” Still, don’t fret for Harold and Kumar. The movie closes with our heroes destined for another adventure. And the nearest White Castle, you ask? Just down the road on Broadway... in Nashville.
August 5, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 32
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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