Harold & Kumar Get The Munchies - a new
breed of teen movie.
Harold & Kumar Get The
Munchies is a teen movie ticks all the right
boxes.
A pair of hilarious
protagonists, two guys that you can really root for. A nice
line in wacky humour, stoners, chicks and copious amounts of
marijuana. What stopped this from being an enormous teen movie
hit?
Ethnic characters have never
fared particularly well in the US of A and (this may be a
little harsh) but I'm betting sweet old Mary Lou would much
prefer to see Jason Biggs or Ashton Kutcher chasing after the
small town women. Also, is it a coincidence that our heroes
must make a journey to White Castle to achieve
salvation?

But its not just
a nice dig at racial stereotypes that sets Harold &
Kumar apart. This film truly has a surreal sense of
humour. Sometimes it goes a step too far (the encounter
with "Freakshow" and his all too welcoming wife ends just
before it really does become a bit sick). Other times it
gets it just right - witness the cheetah ride and a cameo
appearance from a drugged up, lap-dancer chasing Doogie
Howser!
Interestingly enough the cameo from Neil Patrick Harris bears
the credit Neil Patrick Harris played "Neil Patrick Harris"
instead of the usual "himself". According to the Doogie-meister
this is to make sure no one confuses the lapdance obsessed
character with the Real Neil!
| Kumar played by Kal Penn is, in
real life, a vegetarian so veggie White Castles
had to be cooked up for him! |
It does fall apart towards
the end and asks the audience to suspend their disbelief just a
little too long as our heroes hang glide towards their
destination. It's hard not to love a film that features a dream
sequence with a bag of weed however and Harold & Kumar Get
The Munchies deserves to take the crown from that bunch of
white stereotypical teenagers chomping on their American
Pie.
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