Rent "Harold and Maude" instead
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
Review by Ross Anthony

Bad film. First of all, it's really just one big commercial for a regional burger chain. Secondly, it's unabashedly sophomoric. I'm not above stupid humor. I loved "Dumb and Dumber" -- I even enjoyed "Dumb and Dumberer" to some degree. I raved about "Corky Romano." (I think I was the only one.) But Harold and Kumar offer very little to the underdog idiot genre. But then again, I may be biased; I was never into the marijuana scene.

If you're a stoner, better yet, if you're actually stoned at the time -- you may just like this movie. Not too much toilet humor -- but some, a great deal of pot-related humor, and plenty of cheap sex jokes and the occasional gratuitous frontal nudity shots.

And yes, I did laugh here and there, I've seen John Cho in other films/venues and he's a seriously funny guy. (He was the only reason I had hope for this picture.) But any production that makes me think of leaving the theatre even intermittently is going to fall into my C range. And any film brazen enough to put the name of its product sponsor in the title and the climax is going to drop another notch or two.

The plot? Two young guys get high and then get hungry. They spend the rest of the film driving around until they arrive at -- you guessed it -- for those greasy little burgers. (BTW, "Harold and Maude" really is much better.)

(This film viewed at a Krikorian Theatre.)


  • Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Copyright © 2004. Rated R. 87 mins.
  • Starring Kal Penn, John Cho, Paula Garces, Neil Patrick Harris, David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Reynolds, Fred Willard.
  • Directed by Danny Leiner.
  • Screenplay by Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg.
  • Produced by Greg Shapiro, Nathan Kahane at NewLine/Senator Int/Kingsgate/Endgame.

Grade..........................C- (0/4)

Copyright © 1998-2023 Ross Anthony, Author - Speaker - Solo World Circumnavigator In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Mr. Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Mr. Anthony has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over 30 countries & 100 cities (Nairobi to Nagasaki). He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (Washington State to Washington DC). To get signed books ("Rodney Appleseed" to "Jinshirou") or schedule Ross to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186. Go into the world and inspire the people you meet with your love, kindness, and whatever it is you're really good at. Check out books by Ross Anthony. Rand() functions, Pho chicken soup, rollerblading, and frozen yogurt (w/ blueberries) also rock! (Btw, rand is short for random. It can also stand for "Really Awkward Nutty Dinosaurs" -- which is quite rand, isn't it?) Being alive is the miracle. Special thanks to Ken Kocanda, HAL, Jodie Keszek, Don Haderlein, Mom and Pops, my family, R. Foss, and many others by Ross Anthony. Galati-FE also deserves a shout out. And thanks to all of you for your interest and optimism. Enjoy great films, read stirring novels, grow.

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Last Modified: Saturday, 16-Sep-2006 08:08:41 PDT