Friday, January 11, 2008

Hungry Like the Wolf, Pt. 2


There is a serious error involved in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, one that undercuts the very premise of Danny Leiner's 2004 film: The boys are established as residing in the renowned town of Hoboken, New Jersey, whence they light out for, first, New Brunswick (home of Rutgers University), an hour or so from Hoboken, and later Cherry Hill, a further hour's drive to the south, in search of the titular restaurant.

But there is a White Castle in Jersey City, which is adjacent to Hoboken on its south side. Not just in Jersey City, but on the north end of Jersey City, just off Routes 1 & 9. It's no more than a 15-minute drive from any place in Hoboken. Plus, it's adjacent to an Indian neighborhood, which would be a bonus for Kumar.

That's certainly not enough to spoil the movie, which is a lot of fun when it doesn't get too silly. (I don't think there has ever been a movie about two people going to White Castle that wasn't good; in fact, it's hard to imagine that any movie about two people going to White Castle could ever be anything less than primo entertainment.) And it's fascinating to see the way Harold and Kumar's ethnicity, their Asian-ness, seems to be of primary importance to everyone else in the movie, to everyone except Harold and Kumar themselves, who couldn't seem to care less. But I worry that the pair's geographical limitations may be even more problematic in their next outing: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.

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