Harold and Kumar

Harold and Kumar is a series of American stoner comedy films starring John Cho as Harold and Kal Penn as Kumar. Over the course of three feature films, Harold and Kumar follows the adventures of two close friends as they navigate a series of misunderstandings in pursuit of  sliders and other simple pleasures. Starting with the release of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), which was directed by Danny Leiner, these films cumulatively generated over $116 million worldwide, and snagged 3/4 ratings from Roger Ebert and a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Harold and Kumar is a series notable for casting a pair of Asian actors as the leading stars, and for portraying the Asian body in a fashion running contrary to typical stereotypes at the time. Rebuking  the model minority stereotype by portraying Cho and Penn as just humans in pursuit of their American Dream, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle was one of the first movies to ever portray young, educated Asian men as people able to do desirable things, like choosing their own profession, crazy parties, drugs, hook-ups, and holding leadership roles. 

While noteworthy for great Asian American casting and representation, the Harold and Kumar series have served as jumpstarts for both Cho and Penn’s careers in film and beyond. John Cho has gone on to star in many feature films, such as “Searching” and “Star Trek”. In recent times, considerable support has rallied around John Cho in support of the casting of more Asian actors in lead roles — see (starringjohncho.com) for more information. Penn has gone on to star as Lawrence Kutner in House, and has shifted from acting in Hollywood to serving as the Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement, under President Barack Obama.

Citations:

Ebert, Roger. “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle Movie Review (2004) | Roger Ebert.” RogerEbert.com, Brian Grazer, 30 July 2004, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/harold-and-kumar-go-to-white-castle-2004.