Meaty roles, for a change
The stars of Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle were not happy when they heard about the trailer for their new movie, which opens Friday.
John Cho, who plays Harold, was referenced in the preview as ‘the Asian guy from American Pie.' It rankled him, but after seeing the ad with an audience - and how well it was received - he’s changed his mind.
“It is honest to the tone of the movie in that it evokes stereotypes and then kicks them in the head, “ he says.
Before you start thinking that the director of Dude, Where's My Car, has made something that might change the world, be aware: while White Castle is kind to Cho and costar Kal Penn, the main stereotype it seeks to fix is that all stoners are slackers.
Stoners "not lazy"
“Most people who smoke marijuana don’t do it 24/7,” says Kal Penn, ‘the Indian guy from Van Wilder,’ who plays Kumar, “They’re not lazy and their lives are not consumed by marijuana. They’ve got jobs, and they might smoke casually on the side, but it’s like having a beer for a lot of people.”
In the movie Harold is stuck in a low-level investment-banking job and Kumar is a candidate for American Medical School. Cheech and Chong they are not, but they do make for a successful comedy team.
“Cheech and Chong are just a great comedy team like Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy,” says Eddie Kaye Thomas, who plays Rosenberg in the movie, a friend of Harold and Kumar who smokes herb out of a shofar. “John and Kal work incredibly well with each other and can just bounce off each other.”
They bounce off each other into increasingly surreal situations in their quest for White Castle burgers, including equally scary and hilarious encounters with a cheetah and Neil Patrick Harris. But the movie never loses focus of their true craving.
“I think it’s that when you’re high you want nugules of food or morsel-sized pieces of food,” theorizes Cho on White Castle’s allure.
Lighting up not necessary
Both actors insist that you don’t need to be high to enjoy White Castle, nor do you need to be high to enjoy their movie.
“We’ve heard this from people that have seen the movie twice, because of radio station giveaways or whatever, and they say it’s enjoyable both with, um ‘preparation’ and on the fly,” says Penn.
(Pat Healy) Back |  Cheech and Chong they are not, but they do make for a successful comedy team.  "...when you’re high you want nugules of food or morsel-sized pieces of food.” | 