Last weekend, millions of moviegoers flocked to see Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx in Michael Mann's dark thriller, Collateral. A good deal fewer caught Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle (it earned $5m in its opening weekend: Collateral brought in $24.4m), but that's OK. The latter cost a pittance to make, its entire budget probably equalling a third of Cruise's per film pay cheque.
Still, Harold And Kumar has already cemented its status as a stoner classic - only Harold and Kumar aren't your typical smokers. For starters, both are college educated. Harold even has a job (he's a junior accountant: Kumar is a would-be medical student who aced the MCATs). For those of you who don't have IMDB.com bookmarked: Harold And Kumar, as its trailer touts, stars "that Asian kid from American Pie" (aka John Cho) and "that Indian guy from Van Wilder" (Kal Penn). And White Castle is a fast-food chain native to only a handful of US states, including New Jersey, where Harold And Kumar takes place. White Castle's two-bite burgers are best devoured on a weekend night after getting drunk or, in Harold and Kumar's case, to cure the munchies.
Of course, the twentysomething roommates' trip to fast-food heaven isn't as uneventful as its title would suggest. Indeed, the deliciously unpredictable screenplay - involving a cheetah and a man with oozing boils - was surely conceived while its writers were getting blitzed. How else to explain their insanely brilliant idea of featuring Neil Patrick Harris, the geeky teen actor who played the precocious titular doc on the 1980s TV show Doogie Howser MD? Playing a grown-up, hip-hop-talking version of himself on ecstasy, Harris's most memorable scene is one in which he licks and humps the driver's seat of Harold's Honda.
While this year's big-budget $100m comedy Anchorman boasts cameos with Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, Harold And Kumar can only afford to give us a glimpse of Harris, failed US TV talkshow host Jamie Kennedy and The Guy Who Screwed Stifler's Mom in American Pie. Still, this low-budget, lowbrow comedy manages to redefine its waster movie genre. As a highbrow critic has no doubt already noted elsewhere, Harold And Kumar stands apart from other seriously stupid flicks thanks to its multicultural "stars". Offhand, the only other film I can think of that features a prominent Asian character is Sixteen Candles, with its doofus exchange student, Long Duk Dong. But am I longing to see a Harold And Kumar sequel in order to further the cause of political correctness in cinema? Sadly, no. I am just looking forward to laughing my ass off when the duo fly to Europe in search of the lust of Harold's life, Maria. Conveniently, the sexy Latina tells her secret admirer that she's off to vacation - in Amsterdam.
These days, Ben Affleck's name is mud around Hollywood, thanks to Gigli, Paycheck and Jersey Girl - not to mention his co-starring role in his biggest flop to date, Bennifer. So what's a 32-year-old actor in need of an extreme career makeover to do? Try Washington! Though Affleck's most recent gig is throwing his celebrity weight behind presidential nominee John Kerry, one might argue that in allowing the (former) movie star near-top billing at the Democratic National Convention and on a recent 3,500-mile road trip, the US senator is actually doing Affleck a favour. After all, the association has allowed him to embark on his own comeback campaign, kissing babies and signing autographs for giggly teen girls in places like Wheeling, West Virginia, and speaking out (and sounding intelligent) on nationwide TV gigs like CNN's Crossfire, NBC's Today and even Fox's conservative The O'Reilly Factor. But while the more serious, suit-and-tie-wearing Affleck is receiving rave reviews from politicos, the old one continues to get a ribbing. "Kerry's already having a positive effect," says comedy writer Rob Bates. "Ben Affleck's been so busy with politics, he can't make any more movies."
