While there are movies that appeal to the majority of filmgoers, others obviously play best to certain demographic groups. On one end, you have high-brow art house films that are attractive to the elite of wallet and/or mind. On the other end are the low-brow comedies that don't require much of a pedigree, education or refined comedy taste for their fans to find them entertaining.
A special subset of the latter is the drug comedy. Most notable among them are the Cheech and Chong flicks from the 1970s, although there have been plenty since then in full, or at least as represented by such a token character. Most of the full-blown ones have been bad when not completely unbearable.
That's not only due to poor artistry, but also because you either have to be stoned while watching them or enjoy identifying with such characters and situations while fondly recollecting your own previous drug experiences.
"Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" is one such film. Yet another dumb and disgusting entry in the subgenre of low-brow comedic offerings, the effort has received some good reviews. Yet, methinks such critics fall into one or both of those viewing categories.
It also appears that the filmmakers -- director Danny Leiner ("Dude, Where's My Car?") and writers Jon Huritz & Hayden Schlossber (making their collective debut) -- were partaking or at least imagined they were when they conceived and/or shot this film. That's because so much of it's of the "we could have the characters do this (inhale) and then do that (hold and talk with high pitched voice) and man it would be so funny (exhale with smoky if dazed laughter)" mindset.
I've seen plenty of episodic and disjointed offerings in my reviewing lifetime, but without any sort of narcotic assistance, this comes off as a poorly made and disorganized mess. Granted, there is the connective tissue and driving motivation of the stoners needing to satiate their munchies by getting to the titular burger joint. But that's a flimsy skeleton upon which to hang the film's various haphazardly arranged moments and gags.
How else to explain the raccoon attack scene, the ride a cheetah on the loose material, the ugly tow truck driver who wants the stoners to have sex with his gorgeous wife, or some coeds participating in a graphic diarrhea contest while the stoners (hiding in the stall between them) react in horror to the sounds and smells?
If that sounds funny, more power to you, but that's the sort of material on display here and none of has much, if any of a bearing on what occurred before or will follow after it. All of which is too bad since the film occasionally has inklings of some smart comedic stylings.
The filmmakers have obviously turned the tables on the genre by having the usually secondary ethnic characters being the leads and all of the white guys becoming subordinate. There are also apparent attempts at making fun of racism, homophobia and the like. And there are even some slightly clever fantasy moments and others where film titles involving the cast or crew's previous work are dropped into conversation as regular dialogue.
Yet, there isn't enough of the latter, the racist/homophobe material backfires and plays as usual (the main characters freak out when guys come on to them and the racists are the standard buffoons) and stars John Cho (the "American Pie" films, "Better Luck Tomorrow") and Kal Penn ("Love Don't Cost a Thing," "Van Wilder") don't take full advantage of getting the lead spots.
While those who favor dumb comedies won't care since they'll often laugh at anything, I can't help but compare Cho and his cohort to another Penn who brilliantly played a stoner early in his career. Yes, I'm referring to Sean Penn in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Perfectly cast and playing his character with pitch-perfect ease, the elder Penn created an entertaining and enduring stoner character. Viewers will likely forget Harold & Kumar not long after the end credits roll.
They likely won't forget Neil Patrick Harris ("Undercover Brother," "The Next Best Thing"), however, who's obviously out to put a spin -- and then some -- on his former Doogie Howser persona. Playing a coked up, profanity spewing, hooker-happy celebrity is presumably supposed to be funny and maybe it was on paper. In execution, it falls terribly short and ends up as embarrassing. A number of other B-list actors such as Ethan Embry, Jamie Kennedy and Anthony "Kiss of Death" Anderson also appear in cameo parts, but none of their material is funny either.
While I grew up near a White Castle joint in the '60s and always thought it was a real, albeit smaller than normal version of the real thing, I don't believe I ever ate anything there. Maybe that's what's missing and precluding me from enjoying this comedy. Nah, it's just that it's a dumb, disjointed and occasionally disgusting comedic attempt. "Harold & Kumar" rates as a 2 out of 10.
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