Opening

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—— A Green Story
—— Alyce Kills May 24

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—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31
89% The East May 31

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

tomatometer

74

Average Rating: 6.5/10
Reviews Counted: 145
Fresh: 107 | Rotten: 38

The likable leads and subversion of racial stereotypes elevate Harold and Kumar above the typical stoner comedy.

76

Average Rating: 6.7/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 25 | Rotten: 8

The likable leads and subversion of racial stereotypes elevate Harold and Kumar above the typical stoner comedy.

audience

79

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 294,405

My Rating

Movie Info

Directed by Danny Leiner, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle follows the life-changing (and mind-altering) journey of Korean-American investment banker Harold (John Cho) and Indian-American medical-school candidate Kumar (Kal Penn). Both underdogs, Harold and Kumar decide to spend what would have been an otherwise uneventful Friday night satisfying an oddly intense urge for White Castle hamburgers. However, finding a White Castle proves a highly difficult task, and the two friends wind up on an

R,

Action & Adventure, Comedy

Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz

Jan 4, 2005

$18.2M

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All Critics (150) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (113) | Rotten (39) | DVD (28)

A multilayered goof on ethnic stereotypes...

August 14, 2007
Rolling Stone
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Behind all the Farrelly-esque gross-out humour and Cheech & Chong-isms lies a sensitive little picture with a deftly handled anti-racism slant.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
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Stretches the boundaries of offensiveness in ways that both make us laugh and make us think.

January 15, 2005 Full Review Source: Salon.com
Salon.com
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Silliness is the movie's only ambition, but there's something mind-blowing about seeing a fratty comedy through two pairs of Asian-American eyes, particularly when those eyes belong to actors who were token minorities in other dumb comedies.

August 1, 2004 Full Review Source: Boston Globe
Boston Globe
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A peppy, satisfying comedy that could soon become a minor classic.

July 30, 2004 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Will seem a classic if you're stoned, and only slightly less funny if you're straight.

July 30, 2004 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Extremely dumb and vulgar comedy; not for kids.

December 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comments (2)
Common Sense Media

You'll laugh, you'll laugh, and you'll laugh%u2014especially if you see the movie in the cannabis enhanced glaze that the filmmakers intend.

April 15, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com
ColeSmithey.com

'This night is about the American dream,' Kumar promises, and you know what? It sort of is. [Blu-Ray]

August 4, 2008 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews
Groucho Reviews

The film is remarkably silly and often empty-headed, yet it leaves one pleasantly amused.... (Blu-ray Edition)

July 20, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

...for all its juvenile shortcomings, there's a sweet and beguiling charm to the film.

July 20, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

Politically correct Cheech and Chong

July 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide
Apollo Guide

A deserving modern classic, even if only for being so bold as to describe Katie Holmes' breasts as being "the exact opposite" of the Holocaust.

May 2, 2008 Full Review Source: Projection Booth
Projection Booth

...fares a whole lot better than the majority of its stoner-comedy brethren...

May 1, 2008 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment (1)
Reel Film Reviews

An over-the-top romp which rehashes lots of dumb drug jokes but breaks far enough away from the tried-and-true teen formula to earn a high mark even from this jaded critic.

April 11, 2008 | Comment (1)
Bean Soup Times

a whacky, racially refreshing breather in Hollywood's white-dominated, politically over-correct bummer of a mainstream culture

August 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Cinema Writer
Cinema Writer

Go ahead, it's what you crave.

June 23, 2006 Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly

While unabashedly unsophisticated, this flick is subtly smarter, more audacious and more finely tuned than other movies of its ilk...

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid
Combustible Celluloid

Audience Reviews for Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]

Original, unpretentious, funny and above all well written. The "buddy" road movie chemistry of Harold and Kumar, single-handedly revived the stoner comedy genre at the turn of the millennium, however stoner comedies are a kind of comedy film featuring qualities that can range from gut busting and unique, to "Freddy Got Fingered". However this one feature some extremely likable and refreshingly hilarious hero's who sideline the expected racial stereotype humour by giving them a witty and clever character twist, whilst understanding who it's audience is, and offering gross out, in your face laugh out loud humour. It combines raunch, sweet overtones and witty dialogue chopped full of laughs held nicely together by energetic performances from the leads. My only criticism is that many film fans will go and watch "White Castle" with no plausible intention of being baked in the process. That said as somebody who saw this equipped with nothing more than a small soft drink and a bag of popcorn I found enough laughs in it, I can only imagine how hilarious this must be if you're on weed simultaneously. But for me, I see it as easygoing, ridiculous, emotionally engaging fun with enough high and low brow moments to satisfy those who appreciate how good modern comedies can actually be if they bothered to try. After all if it weren't for the outstanding success of Harold and Kumar we wouldn't have stoner comedies like Seth MacFarlanes overly embraced "Ted" and David Gordon Green's Pineapple Express. The best compliment you can give the film is that it's a stoner comedy masterpiece, and it is.
February 24, 2013
Directors Cat
Directors Cat

Super Reviewer

A semi-offensive flick that doesn't take itself seriously... like at all.
I'm one of the few people that have seen the 3rd installment before watching the classic "White Castle" iteration so I see how the roots started it all, and frankly, "White Castle" is a dumbed down version of "Christmas 3-D". Yeah, it's "kind of" entertaining, but it's rarely and it's horribly made. Poster says, "From the director of 'Dude, Where's My Car?'" That's not a good way of advertising. Shot, directed, and edited horribly.

Other then that, "White Castle" is somewhat of an entertaining road-movie, but if you're looking for high-laughs that split your insides, "White Castle" ain't it. It's sequel does a better job.
January 10, 2013
Albert Kim

Super Reviewer

    1. Kumar: Remember that time when we got really stoned and started throwing shit off of that bridge to see if it would float?
    – Submitted by Brendan C (9 days ago)
    1. Harold: Did Doogie Howser just steal my fucking car?
    2. Kumar: Yes! I think he did.
    – Submitted by Lee V (15 months ago)
    1. Rosenberg: Oh! Tits! Tits!
    2. Goldstein: Boobies! Boobies! Boobies!
    – Submitted by Dylan C (19 months ago)

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Latest News on Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

July 27, 2011:
Jason Bateman Lights Up for We're the Millers
Reports say he'll take the lead in Rawson Marshall Thurber's stoner comedy.

October 14, 2010:
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Neil Patrick Harris will make his feature directorial debut with "Aaron and Sarah," a romantic...

April 2, 2010:
New Directors for Next American Pie, Harold & Kumar Sequels
"Harold & Kumar" creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg have been hired to direct the next...

Foreign Titles

  • Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (DE)
  • Harold And Kumar Get The Munchies (UK)
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