Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

"Fast food. High times."

2004 1h 28m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🍅

75%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 2,391🍅75%Rotten Tomatoes●64Metacritic★7IMDB · 215,149

ComedyAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Nerdy accountant Harold and his irrepressible friend, Kumar, get stoned watching television and find themselves utterly bewitched by a commercial for White Castle. Convinced there must be one nearby, the two set out on a late-night odyssey that takes them deep into New Jersey. Somehow, the boys manage to run afoul of rednecks, cops and even a car-stealing Neil Patrick Harris before getting anywhere near their beloved sliders.

“Fast food. High times.”

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Cast

John Cho
Harold Lee
Kal Penn
Kumar Patel
Paula Garcés
Maria
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris
David Krumholtz
Seth Goldstein
Eddie Kaye Thomas
Rosenberg
Christopher Meloni
Freakshow
Malin Akerman
Liane

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Danny Leiner
Writers: Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz
Languages: English, Hindi
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Hindi.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Part of the "Harold & Kumar Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Danny Leiner, shot by Bruce Douglas Johnson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by David Kitay. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jeff Betancourt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Cho and Kal Penn and Paula Garcés carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Danny Leiner directs. Bruce Douglas Johnson behind the camera. David Kitay scores. Jeff Betancourt cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Hindi.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 22 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Hindi.
4Part of the "Harold & Kumar Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Danny Leiner, shot by Bruce Douglas Johnson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by David Kitay. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Jeff Betancourt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8John Cho and Kal Penn and Paula Garcés carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Fast food. High times.".
10IMDB entry: tt0366551 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 19 themes, including "sibling relationship", "new jersey", "amsterdam, netherlands", "road trip".
12Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Bruce Douglas Johnson
Original score: David Kitay
Editing: Jeff Betancourt
Production design: Steve Rosenzweig
Costume design: Alex Kavanagh
Makeup / hair: Susan Exton-Stranks
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $9,000,000
Box office: $23,936,908
Return: 266% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 64/100
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 215,149 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

3 nominations total

Part of

Harold & Kumar Collection

An American stoner comedy film series starring John Cho (Harold) and Kal Penn (Kumar).

Also by

Danny Leiner

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Kamurai2020-09-15
★ 6/10
Decent watch, could watch again, and can recommend. I'm not a fan of drug humor, "because he's HIGH" isn't a good enough joke to me, but this felt like a spiritual successor to "Dumb and Dumber" (another movie that is funny, but I'm not a huge fan of). John Cho and Kal Penn work amazingly together, so much so that I'm honestly surprised there isn't a web series of "Harold and Kumar" skits (and if there are, then happy day) trying to wring blood from stone. The story has a great structure: a clear antagonist, clear love interest, a goal, plenty of adversity, and lots of quality character interaction. The problem with the content is that it's a series of ever increasing ridiculous events. The continuity suffers a bit, but its done so well that it feels seemless in the moment. The comedy writing is good enough that it holds up over 16 years, the majority of which is really funny. It's not so funny that this is an amazing movie, but it definitely makes it work a watch.
tmdb344731212025-04-13
★ 7/10
This 2004 stoner comedy follows two young gentlemen, Harold and Kumar, who are out on a quest to settle their hunger pangs with a little late night snack after watching a tempting commercial. Getting there is half the fun, and for these duo, they are in for the night of their lives! Their trip to satisfy their crave doesn’t go without a series of mishaps, as they battle their way through one unpredictable event after another. What stands in there way? A hateful cop, a cancer oozing man, and a group of menacing loiterers, to name a few…did I forget to mention the cheetah and the crazy hitchhiking raccoon? It’s also a night of grand theft auto, but I’m probably spoiling the fun. Strap yourself in for non stop last, because this film is ready to deliver the goods…and maybe even leave a bad taste in your mouth, but that won’t be from the burgers!