You can at least give the film credit for being what it actually sounds like it’s about. Harold and Kumar are two friends that are trying to get to White Castle for some burgers. But after that initial desire is when things tend to get a little nuts. The film does follow the two young men on their way to White Castle, but the shenanigans they get up to on the way there are anything but normal. There are a host of guest stars and a lot of funny situations that managed to get the attention of a lot of eager fans that have followed the pair throughout their adventures when the sequels started getting made.
Here’s a few reasons why the first movie was so important though.
5. It brought back Neil Patrick Harris.
You remember him right? Doogie Howser? Carl from Starship Troopers? Barney from How I Met Your Mother? He wasn’t doing much before this film except making the occasional cameo here and there when asked and to be honest he’d just about fallen off of the Hollywood map and would have stayed in obscurity if not being written into this movie before being asked.
4. It allowed John Cho to develop his acting career.
For a long time he was known as the funny guy that yelled MILF on American Pie, but that was about all he was really known for. A lot of actors run the risk of being typecast if they’re not allowed to diversify in some way. Playing as Harold was a good way for Cho to show the depth he has and the ability he can bring to the table if he’s allowed to use it.
3. It brought White Castle burgers into the public eye in an even bigger way.
White Castle as already well known for their hamburgers but Harold and Kumar managed to bring them even further into the public eye with their insane quest to reach the place and dine on their delicious fare. It’s also interesting that since Kal Penn is a vegetarian that the effort was made to make a bunch of the burgers vegetarian so that he could perform several takes.
2. It allowed Kal Penn to escape the roll he established in Van Wilder.
His role as Taj was funny but it was still very one-dimensional. Much like Cho this film allowed him to step out of those boundaries and do something a lot different. From this point on both actors started showing that they could take on different roles and thereby enter into different films where their acting talents might shine a little more. If you recall Penn was actually one of the henchmen in Superman Returns.
1. It allowed both actors to become known for something other than their stereotypical roles.
If not for this movie Penn and Cho would have likely always been known as the Indian guy from Van Wilder and the Chinese guy from American Pie. This would have been an extremely unfair way to describe both men since they’ve got so much more that they can show people.
If you haven’t seen this movie yet then you might want to find a copy. It’s worth a look.
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