August 3, 2004 - White Castle has leading role in lowbrow comedy

by Megan Sweas

White Castle burgers are the objects of desire in a new movie, which is either just another lowbrow comedy or a breakthrough for Asian Americans, depending on who you ask.

"Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" debuted Friday and earned $5 million, making it seventh in box office rankings for last weekend.

The movie features Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn), who smoke marijuana, see a commercial for White Castle and then embark on a quest from Manhattan to New Jersey to find Slyders, White Castle's miniature burgers. It was directed by Danny Leiner, who also directed "Dude, Where's My Car?," and is being called a better version of that movie — with Asians.

The two twentysomethings confront racial stereotypes throughout the movie. Indian-American Kumar messes up med-school interviews in order to avoid becoming a South-Asian stereotype, and a Caucasian boss dumps certain jobs on Harold, a Korean-American investment banker, because of his race.

One review noted, however, that diversity is not unique to stoner movies, as the original pot-smoking duo, Cheech and Chong, was a Mexican American and an Asian American.

Although the movie takes product placement to another level, some worry that the movie negatively connects the White Castle brand with marijuana. Screenwriters Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg originally also had a role for Krispy Kreme, but a fictional hot-dog stand replaced it because the doughnut maker did not want its brand in the movie. White Castle, however, embraced the risk.

"It was like a love letter to White Castle," said Jamie Richardson, White Castle's director of marketing in a Chicago Tribune article. "There was something authentic in the way the script described how people feel about our distinctive taste and the lengths they'll go to."

Richardson focuses on the positive sides of the movie, while disregarding the illegal activity it portrays.

"The story is about a heroic quest," Richardson said in the article. "While we might not endorse some of the behaviors, we approve of the spirit of the film: There are a lot of good messages in it."

Kal Penn does not endorse multiple behaviors in the movie either, as the actor neither smokes marijuana nor eats red meat, according to promotional interviews with him.

This article reprinted with permission from Meat Marketing & Technology.

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