Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
| Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle | |
|---|---|
| File:Haroldandkumarposter.jpg | |
| Directed by | Danny Leiner |
| Written by | Jon Hurwitz Hayden Schlossberg |
| Produced by | Greg Shapiro |
| Starring | John Cho Kal Penn |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Release dates | July 30th, 2004 |
Running time | 88 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9,000,000 (estimated) |
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (released in some countries as Harold and Kumar get the Munchies, because there are no White Castles outside of the U.S.) is a 2004 stoner film that seeks to break stereotypes, especially racial, in American culture. The plot revolves around the two title characters, who decide to go to the fast food restaurant White Castle after smoking some marijuana, only to find themselves on a crazy adventure instead. The main characters are Harold Lee, played by John Cho, and Kumar Patel, played by Kal Penn.
The film was written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, and directed by Danny Leiner. It also has appearances by Paula Garcés, Anthony Anderson, Ethan Embry, Jamie Kennedy, Bobby Lee, Christopher Meloni, Malin Akerman, Ryan Reynolds, Shaun Majumder, David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Neil Patrick Harris (as a parody of himself).
The Cherry Hill, New Jersey White Castle location is fictional. Cherry Hill was chosen because it enabled the movie producers to shoot the film over a more substantial and varied landscape. The beginning scene in the office building, is the IBM office Building located in Markham, east part of Toronto. A few scenes were also shot in Mississauga and in Etobicoke, a suburb on the west end of Toronto, Canada. The college scenes were also filmed in Canada - at the University of Toronto's Hart House. However, contrary to the plot of the movie, there is no White Castle located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey - it had to be trucked in. (In reality, at least 4 different White Castles are located within ~3 miles of Hoboken, NJ where Harold & Kumar reside: Jersey City, Manhattan, Union City, Little Ferry). White Castle's own proximity results for Hoboken
This movie was well received by critics, and a sequel is planned, Harold and Kumar Go to Amsterdam (working title).
Characters
- Harold Lee - A shy, intelligent Korean American investment banker. He has a crush on Maria, who lives in his building. He's also a constant workhorse from a couple of irresponsible work superiors. John Hughes' Sixteen Candles is one of his favorite movies.
- Kumar Patel - Harold's best friend, Kumar is a second generation Indian American. He is extremely talented in the field of medicine, but resists going to medical school, perhaps because his father and brother are both doctors and because he considers himself an opponent of the establishment. He is much more confident (and laid back) than his best friend.
- Maria Quesa Dilla - Harold's love interest, an attractive woman of Latina descent who lives in an apartment in Harold and Kumar's building. Harold eventually gathers the courage to ask her out. She agrees, but is on her way to Amsterdam for 10 days. It is also revealed that Maria shares Harold's taste in movies with her being seen by Harold and Kumar going to see Sixteen Candles at a local movie theatre that was holding a late-night John Hughes movie marathon.
- The Extreme Sports Punks - A group of obnoxious, junk food munching, adrenaline-fueled ne'er do well white punks who torment Harold, Kumar and just about any poor soul in their path. Their favorite exclamation is "Extreme," and at least one of the gang has an embarrassing fondness for power ballads by female pop music singers and groups.
- Rosenberg and Goldstein - Harold and Kumar's Jewish counterparts and friends. They constantly talk about sex, they smoke pot from a shofar-shaped bong, and they pepper their speech with Jewish phrases. They also spend their night in a quest for food, in their case, going to "Hot Dog Heaven," after turning down Harold and Kumar's invitation to come with them to White Castle and saying that they were staying at home to watch The Gift on HBO to see the scenes in the movie where Katie Holmes is naked and shows her breasts. Their names are a reference to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the writers (who based these characters loosely on themselves) have expressed interest in making a movie about what these characters did while Harold and Kumar were going to White Castle, ala "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead."[1]
- Cindy Kim - A Korean friend of Harold's. She is more interested in Harold than he is in her. She wants him to spend time with her East Asian Students' Club at Princeton University - a group which is apparently geeky, but who stage a wild party, which Harold and Kumar miss, but would tell and suggest to Rosenberg and Goldstein later on in the film when the two groups meet up and talked about their separate quests (in the case of Rosenberg and Goldstein, their quest is going to Hot Dog Heaven while Harold and Kumar's quest is to White Castle) .
- Burger Shack Employee - An overweight African American, he is very helpful to Harold and Kumar, but seems mentally unbalanced, claiming that he and "Pookie" put animal semen in the special sauce, and rampaging through the Burger Shack kitchen, shouting that he (and Pookie) should "burn this motherfucker down." Advises the duo that they should go to White Castle if they want a genuinely good meal. Played by Anthony Anderson.
- Freakshow - A religious, tow truck driving, car repairing white fanatic, friendly Freakshow helps the protagonists when their car breaks down. He is covered in boils, yet has a very attractive wife, whom he met through the choir at his church. Played by Christopher Meloni.
- Liane - Freakshow's attractive wife. She is willing to perform sexual favors for Harold and Kumar; however, they decline when they realize that Freakshow also wants to be involved.
- Bradley Thomas (Hippie Student) - A student at Princeton. He enjoys listening to Phish and writing poetry of questionable merit. He overcharges Kumar for weed, claiming he is a "business hippie." He is later arrested for possession of marijuana. It is revealed that Bradley Thomas (Hippie Student) was the original owner of the Giant Bag of Weed that Kumar falls in love with when he was trying to free Harold from the prison cell in the police station Harold was imprisoned in by Officer Palumbo and his fellow racist police officers.
- Christy (Kate Kelton) and Clarissa - Two attractive, upper-class Princeton girls from England who agree to meet up with Harold and Kumar. However, the guys are repulsed when they covertly witness the girls engage in the vulgar contest of "Battleshits" in the girls' bathroom stalls.
- Giant Bag of Weed - A giant bag of weed with whom Kumar falls in love and, in a fantasy sequence, they court, wed and enjoy a loving, if stormy, relationship. GBOW doesn't know how to make decent coffee, and Kumar punishes her by beating her.
- Officer Palumbo - A deeply racist white police officer who imposes a large fine ($220) on Harold for jaywalking, even though there were no cars on the road. He arrests Harold for assault when Kumar eggs him on, causing Harold to provokedly punch him. A scene shows him being arrested for his racist actions as part of the "news story" that shows with the credits.
- Neil Patrick Harris - Of Doogie Howser, M.D. fame, "NPH" is in an extremely horny state after taking a few ecstasy tablets at a party when the two protagonists pick him up hitchhiking. He steals Harold's car while he and Kumar are in a gas station, in order to pick up female prostitutes and cocaine. He later makes amends by paying for the pair's very large White Castle order and paying Harold some money for cleaning expenses after making a few "love stains" in the back of Harold's car.
- Tarik Jackson and Nathaniel Brooks - Two African Americans, the former a professor, the latter an attorney. Both are wrongfully arrested by Palumbo, and his (equally racist) fellow police officers. Jackson and Brooks eventually sue the State of New Jersey for racial discrimination and police brutality. Tarik has two gay fathers and according to himself, "an extremely large penis". Advises his fellow cellmate Harold that the universe unfolds as it should when wrong things happening to him.
- Dr. Patel - Kumar's father. He insists that Kumar go to medical school. Kumar is loathe to comply, until he has a change of heart toward the end of the film, inspired by his experiences over the night. He has explicitly expressed to Kumar that he is "not coming on anything."
- Male Nurse - A male nurse that works at the same hospital that Kumar's father and older brother work. He takes Harold and Kumar (who were disguised in operating theatre scrubs at the time so they can score some medical marijuana from the hospital) into an emergency surgery room to treat a man that was shot. Kumar shows off his medical skills and saves the man's life and the male nurse was very impressed (and sexually aroused at the same time). Played by Ryan Reynolds.
- Billy Carver - A white financial investment executive and work superior to Harold. He's getting over a breakup that happened months ago, and based on his friend/co-worker J.D.'s advice, he passes his work onto Harold and deliberately lies to his face. Ultimately, he and J.D. are caught by Harold who chastises the two shortly before ruining their chances with the attractive female companions with them. Played by Ethan Embry.
- J.D. - Billy's laidback white co-worker and essentially the jerk of the two. Determined to show his buddy a good time, he advises him to pass his work off to Harold in an ignorant remark. Humiliated by Harold when he's caught.
- Creepy Guy - A creepy white guy in a ragged suit, mustache and greasy haircut. Urinates directly next to Kumar in an open space, which creeps Kumar out. Played by Jamie Kennedy.
Plot
Saddled with more work by an irresponsible co-worker, Harold Lee heads home. Meanwhile, his best friend Kumar Patel has just blown another medical school interview on purpose. But now, with the day behind them, it's another Friday night and these two best friends watch TV and smoke weed while deciding what to do for dinner that night. They end up seeing a commercial for White Castle, a restaurant they had not been to for a while, and decide to go there for dinner. They drive to New Brunswick, where they think there is a White Castle.
Once in New Brunswick, they realize the White Castle there had turned into a Burger Shack. They pull in, and the Burger Shack employee tells them that the burgers there just "don't cut it" compared to White Castle. They find out about one in Cherry Hill, 45 minutes away and agree to make the trip.
They first stop in Princeton to buy more weed. Harold visits Cindy Kim, to avoid being called a twinkie (yellow on the outside, white on the inside). The boys are trapped in the middle of a game of "Battleshits" while being forced to flee from campus security for smoking marijuana.
Along the way, they get a raccoon in the car, which prompts a visit to the hospital for Harold. Despite being told he doesn't have rabies, Kumar is confronted by his father and brother, who berate him for not taking his medical school interview seriously. In a touching moment, he says he'll try harder and hugs his father and brother, but only to pickpocket medical passes to find medical marijuana.
However, things don't go exactly as planned, as they are intercepted by a male nurse (who confuses Kumar with his father) and brought into the emergency room to operate on a gunshot victim. Amazingly, Kumar completes the operation and saves the patient's life, and armed with directions to the White Castle from the victim, the two head back on their journey.
Back on the road, the boys notice that Maria is at a late-night showing of Sixteen Candles, but when Kumar suggests picking her up, Harold causes them to spin out on a wet road, landing in a ditch. Freakshow arrives with his tow truck, and they are both taken to his compound with his (improbably attractive) wife, Liane.
Soon after leaving Freakshow and Liane, they find a hitchhiker who happens to be Neil Patrick Harris from Doogie Howser, M.D. They pick him up and soon need to pull into a gas station to find their way back to the highway. After asking for directions, the Extreme Sports punks distract the two by kayaking through the convenience store and soon land in a confrontation with Kumar. The two leave and are eager to get out and hit the road again, only for their car to be stolen by Neil Patrick Harris, after Kumar left the keys unattended.
Harold sees a payphone across a street with a red crosswalk sign. They try to get it to go green, but Kumar urges them to cross anyway considering it is late in the night and there is no traffic around. Unfortunately, they could not have picked a worse time to cross, as a police unit catches them out of nowhere. They soon get fined $220 after getting into a vicious conversation with an unhelpful officer that does not believe what Neil Patrick Harris had done. Harold soon gets mad and accidentally hits the police officer, thus landing him in jail.
Once in jail, Kumar comes to Harold's rescue as they find a way to escape once the guards are not present by making up a story about a shooting, and (after stealing the hippie student's confiscated giant bag of weed) discover a cheetah right outside. They get on the cheetah (after getting it stoned), hoping to arrive at "White Castle in no time!", only for Harold to fall off and pass out. After being awakened by Kumar, they realize that they had been led in the wrong direction and plan to get a cab to return home.
But Harold insists on persevering in their mission to find a White Castle, despite yet another confrontation with the Extreme punks. This time, a ball is thrown at Harold's forehead, but instead of losing his cool, he has an idea: he and Kumar steal the punks' truck and drive away.
Just after they arrive in Cherry Hill however, an officer who was pursuing the punks sees the truck and gives chase. This leads to them driving off the road to lose the officer and then getting stuck on the edge of a cliff. Realizing there's nothing else to do, they find a hang glider in the punks' vehicle, and use it to glide down to the White Castle restaurant.
But after arriving there, they realize they have no money. Luckily, Neil Patrick Harris shows up, says how sorry he is for what happened, gives them money and their car back. They have the best meal of their lives and, as they finish, Harold's coworkers arrive after a night of partying, despite telling Harold they would be with clients all night. Harold summarily berates the two men (something he would never had done the day before) and even shoots down their chances of scoring with their two female companions. Much of this is to Kumar's surprise who sees his friend standing up for himself and going out of his way to do so. As the two return to civilization, Harold finally reveals his feelings to Maria and makes out with her. Kumar persuades Harold that the two should join Maria on her trip to Amsterdam by telling him "you know what's legal in Amsterdam, do you?" (referring to the common misconception that drugs are legal in the Netherlands; see Drug policy of the Netherlands)
Racial stereotyping
Unlike other films in the stoner film genre (see Dude, Where's My Car? and Dazed and Confused), Harold and Kumar also heavily deals with the issues of racial discrimination and stereotyping, particularly as applied to Asian males in modern day America. The movie was praised by many for featuring minorities in the lead roles without stereotypical accents or nerdy qualities. In fact, the lead characters are distinct from most leads in "stoner flicks" by being intelligent young professionals.
Harold is an intelligent Korean investment banker whose current job greatly impresses the Korean population at Princeton University. He is constantly faced with the stereotype of the intelligent and nerdy Asian guy, but at the same time, fears being called a Twinkie by his Korean friends. It's explained that a Twinkie is, like the snack food, yellow on the outside, white on the inside. (See Oreo)
Kumar is of Indian heritage, who like his friend Harold is extremely intelligent, especially within the field of medicine. Kumar also has the fear of becoming a living stereotype and, despite having incredible MCAT scores, refuses to attend medical school offering the explanation "Just because you're hung like a moose, doesn't mean you have to do porn."
To juxtapose the serious-yet-subtle undertones dealing with racial tolerance, we also have Harold and Kumar's Jewish equivalents and across-the-hall friends, Rosenberg and Goldstein who couldn't be prouder of their heritage. Rosenberg wears a yarmulke, they smoke pot from a shofar and even speak like old Jewish men, despite being in their early 20's.
Meekrab
Meekrab (not to be confused with mee krob) was a band founded by the nephew of Director Danny Leiner, now defunct. Band members used to always wear T-shirts printed with the logo, and they purportedly got the inspiration for their band name from the Dutch word for madder, a plant used for making dye.
Throughout the movie, the character Kumar can be seen wearing a Meekrab T-shirt.