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Harold, Kumar take on politics

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Also by Ashley Jacobs:

Film shows rare reward in getting lost (April 8, 2008)
Ryan Phillippe talks politics, 'Stop-Loss' authenticity (March 27, 2008)
'Boleyn' film meets dismal end (March 3, 2008)
Jazzworks Dance Company (January 31, 2008)
51 UW faculty, staff exhibit own art (January 28, 2008)

by Ashley Jacobs

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Since 2004’s underground hit “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle,” one could argue that the title characters have become household names among teenage and college crowds. Perhaps this is because Harold and Kumar are reminiscent of your stoner roommates from freshman year, or that their bout of munchies — which led to a series of nonsensical adventures in search of a single White Castle establishment — told an endearing, albeit silly, story.

Whatever the reason for their popularity, in a recent phone interview with The Badger Herald the real individuals behind the characters proved something of a surprise.

First, John Cho (Harold) and Kal Penn (Kumar) don’t get high and search out cheap burger joints. In fact, Penn (“The Namesake”) specifically said, “I know this is so disappointing to the audience, which is why I don’t talk about it a lot, but I don’t smoke weed. I don’t eat fast food… And John Cho is more of a Kumar in real life and I am more of a Harold. The roles are definitely switched.”

A further diversion from their cinematic counterparts is that these guys love books. They particularly enjoy Jhumpa Lahiri, author of “The Namesake”; Cho first introduced Lahiri to Penn, thus leading him to take the main role in the film version. Chatting about her latest novella, Penn delightedly said, “Oh my God, I’m so relishing picking it up,” and Cho admitted to buying three copies, though he said he doesn’t know why.

However, don’t be fooled into thinking Cho and Penn are staunch academic types. They are still insanely hilarious, often bantering with each other and finding comedy in nearly any situation. Sure, the conversation sometimes veered toward the serious, like when we discussed the societal effects of racial typecasting and the personal advantages of taking roles in film versus television. But, most importantly, we discussed their upcoming sequel, “Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay,” a worthy follow-up which Cho promises will, “like any good sequel should, ramp up everything.” Just considering the plot’s grandiosity, one could only attest that this is likely to be true.

Picking up right where the first left off, the film takes Harold and Kumar out of the country, following their exploits as they are caught in an international airport with a bong. Transported to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay as suspected terrorists, the duo escape and must travel across the South to get their names cleared by President Bush.

Cho said the biggest difference between the two films is that “Guantanamo Bay” has a plot and that it trades in some of the racial themes of “White Castle” for higher stakes with blatant political humor — something the actor saw as a welcome change.

“I think the political premise is a way to make fart and poo jokes funnier,” he said, and Penn concurred.

While the films certainly make full use of their R-ratings as borderline gross-out comedies, Penn said that that doesn’t mean he’s entirely comfortable playing the part — which is why he does it as an actor.

“If you played characters that were similar to you all the time it would be pretty boring, I think,” Penn said.

And surely, “boring” would be an exceptionally poor adjective to describe this film, with all its absurdities and raunchy humor. Take, for example, the return of Christopher Meloni, who played Freakshow in “White Castle.” This time around, Meloni plays the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Additionally, Neil Patrick Harris returns to play himself, and Cho and Penn were quick to take credit for the resurrection of the man’s career.

“I believe he has said, ‘I don’t think I’d be on ‘How I Met Your Mother’ without ‘Harold and Kumar,”” Cho said. Penn added, “I think he said, ‘I owe everything to Kal Penn.’” Of course, they were only kidding.

All jokes aside, the actors are confident audiences will enjoy the sequel.

“My hope is that the fun that we had translates onto the screen,” Penn said. “It seems like the audience likes relating to the characters of Harold and Kumar, and so if they can have half as much fun as we had making it, then I think we did our jobs.”

Cho and Penn don’t pretend “White Castle” or “Guantanamo Bay” present any lasting insight or powerful moral message to their audiences. Rather, the films are purely outrageous Hollywood creations, and the actors know it and love them for that fact.

Unsurprisingly, Harold and Kumar have been hailed by critics as the next Cheech and Chong, while others may simply see them as familiar all-American guys. Either way, they’re back when “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay” opens Friday.

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