Kal mistakenly thinks he knows where a White Castle is nearby in their corner of New Jersey, but a series of mishaps - including toll booth flubs and an unintended detour into a bad section of Newark - land the guys in Princeton.Īt the university, Kumar tries to score some more pot from an ersatz “hippie” connection while Harold finds himself lured into a hilarious Asian American students association meeting. Though his Indian parents expect the intelligent Kumar to become a doctor just like his older brother and father, he’d rather kick back and light up a nice, fat doobie.ĭuring a nighttime pot-drenched couch potato session, Harold and Kumar get a serious case of the munchies and want “the perfect food.” On cue, a White Castle burger ad appears on the tube, triggering the goofiest case of consumer demand the movies have shown in some time. A better indicator of pic’s true nature is the assured directorial presence of “Dude, Where’s My Car?” helmer Danny Leiner, who has now at least equaled that cult hit’s laugh quotient.Įxploited as the reliably workaholic Asian - specifically Korean - office pushover by his superiors, Harold Lee ( John Cho) unhappily puts up with his corporate fate and can’t find the right words to say to Maria (Paula Garces), a cute gal neighbor in his building.īy contrast, his roommate Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) shows a more rebellious and assertive nature when interviewing with an overly ingratiating med school dean (Fred Willard, briefly on screen but in classic mode). This news originated at Variety.Although the title might be off-putting to those critical of Hollywood’s yen for product placement, odyssey is stuffed with hazards that completely distract from the lusted-after product.
Knowing how heavily streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ rely on nostalgia to draw in fans, it feels like only a matter of time until the series is picked up for a revival online, and viewers will once again get to join the stoner duo on another hilarious adventure across the world. So, if anyone's reading this and wants it, let us know." "We keep talking about it and are hoping in the next year or so to be able to find a good home. And Penn is right alongside those fans in rooting for the film seeing the light of day soon. Still, there is a devoted fanbase for the films that would love to see a fourth adventure featuring Harold and Kumar. Since leaving Harold and Kumar, both lead actors have had busy careers in other movies and shows, so it is understandable that they would struggle to find the time to go back to a series that has largely passed out of the minds of the general audiences. I think we all, thankfully, have the blessing of being really busy right now and want to find the right venue and the right timing." Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg - who created and wrote all three movies in the franchise - we all would love to do one. John Cho and I text about it all the time.
But for the 42-year-old actor, making the movie would need the cooperation of the franchise's entire original team, which can be tricky. While the franchise made healthy profits, it was never a giant money-spinner, so Penn's statement about a possible fourth movie finding a home on a streaming service makes sense. Most notably, Neil Patrick Harris cameos in the series as a drugged-out horndog, and it was this performance that got him the role of Barney in How I Met Your Mother. The movies were memorable for their unique brand of stoner/racial humor, the fact that the two leads belonged to minority groups but without the usual stereotypes attached to Koreans and Indians, and the unexpected faces that popped up in those movies. The Harold and Kumar series followed the journey of two stoner friends, slacker Kumar Patel and the uptight Harold Lee, played by Kal Penn and John Cho, whose simple quests to go out to eat at a White Castle, or get a Christmas tree quickly snowball into outrageous journeys where they met a host of zany characters, causing plenty of destruction and confusion in their wake. "I feel like it's gotta be a streamer because people just love watching in the comfort of their own home on a Friday night at 2 a.m., which is more streaming 'binge-able' than it is going to the theater." Recently, Penn spoke about a possible Harold and Kumar 4 to continue the franchise. But perhaps his most memorable work was as one of the leads in the stoner comedy series Harold and Kumar. Kal Penn has established a long and successful career in films, movies, education, and politics.