Religious press critics are unanimous in treating the new comedy from writer-director Danny Lenier (Dude, Where's My Car?) as noxious summertime junk food. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle follows Harold, a college graduate who is persecuted by his co-workers, as he is dragged along on a long night of sophomoric misadventures with Kumar, a party animal who just wants to get a sack of burgers from White Castle.
Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) objects to "a nonstop barrage of profanity, drug use and sexual content. Worse, the film never questions the wisdom of these characters' unrestrained indulgences. Harold & Kumar's appetites for marijuana, sex and food seemingly know no bounds. And consequences for their actions are wholly absent, suggesting fulfillment can be found in unbridled obedience to our bodies' primal urges for pleasure."
"Though crude and offensive at least Harold & Kumar … is an equal opportunity offender," writes Michael Elliott (Movie Parables). "Asians, Indians, females, blacks, Christians, skateboarders, Southerners, cops … all groups will find themselves as the butt of more than one crude and politically incorrect joke before the film comes to an end."
"Just when you thought Hollywood had scraped the bottom of the lowbrow-idea barrel, a movie comes along which reveals a trap door to the cask," writes David DiCerto (Catholic News Service). He calls it "a vulgar, mindless road-comedy with a self-summarizing title [that] is about an hour and a half too long."
from Film Forum, 08/19/04
Lindsay Goodier (Relevant) goes to the crass comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and comes away with a bad taste in her mouth. "The plot is obviously completely ridiculous and unbelievable, but it manages to keep the audience hooked and laughing. For those who don't really care what extents of vulgar humor a film goes to in order to make you laugh, you'll be laughing the whole time. But for people who actually have a good grip on morality, the movie will probably make you cringe more than chuckle."
