A quick post about a movie we saw this weekend. We watched Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle on our new projector. It's a movie I've wanted to see since it came out but never got the chance. It came highly recommended by our friend Dave.
First off, I don't recommend this movie unless you're a fan of the humor in "South Park". It's very crass. If you can get past this, it's hilarious (and very smart, in a sly way).
I *LOVE* that the two main characters are Asian-Americans. Not caricatures (aka Apu on The Simpsons) and not foreigners with accents - two regular guys. These guys are portrayed as being loser-cool, attractive to women and not the typical nerd stereotype that Asian Americans are usually stuck with on American TV and movies. The movie doesn't have much plot but is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. And no, I wasn't stoned.
There's some controversy on the Internet (do a search on Sepia Mutiny) about how this movie is disrespectful to women. It's true, there's a lot of typical frat boy humor in it. (Reminds me of my favorite line in South Park when Cartman says "Get back in the kitchen, bitch and make me some PIE!"). But the point was not to make a PC shiny happy movie where all are represented in a positive light.
I'm just glad that a mainstream funny movie, stars two Asian American guys. There aren't a whole lot of people like us on TV or in the movies (Bend it Like Beckham being the major exception). I think Canada and the UK TV shows are further ahead in this respect. But it's nice not to be "invisible" anymore, and not to always be the doctor or computer geek on "Law and Order", though props to them for having any Asian American characters at all.
So if you saw the movie, what did you think? And as a side note, I thought it was interesting I used the word "freakshow" in the last post. If you saw the movie, you'll understand why.
I saw this movie in the theaters when it first came out, all excited for probably the same reasons you were. I liked parts of it a lot, but I didn't relate to the stoner aspect. I guess I must be getting old, because some of the edgy comedy out there no longer appeals to me. (I didn't like American Pie at all.) For the Puerto Rican friend I went to see it with, though, well, it became his absolute, all-time favorite movie! -LL
ReplyDeleteWell, most of the comedy (like American Pie, There's Something About Mary, etc) seems stupid to me too. But I guess if it's cartoon characters or Asian-American ones, I can still find it funny :) I didn't relate to the stoner aspect, but didn't feel like that was a major part of the movie (after all, Harold did throw the weed out the window when they got pulled over, so they were sober for most of the movie!)
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