Best buds make for high times

Blatant product placement within films is something that normally pisses me off to no end. It's OK when used appropriately, i.e. James Bond drinking a martini made from Smirnoff vodka or in "Wayne's World" as a source of satire. "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" might be the movie most guilty of committing the aforementioned cinematic sin, but for some reason it's fitting. Much like the flick's protagonists, two Asian Americans (something rarely seen onscreen), the titular, slider-serving burger joint is far out enough to be fresh. For Christ's sake, who'd pay eight bucks to see "Dave and Jason Go to McDonald's?"\nJohn Cho (one of the MILF men from "American Pie") and Kal Penn (Van Wilder's horny assistant in the film of the same name) play Harold and Kumar, respectively. Harold is a Korean-American investment banker who's often crapped upon by his Caucasian colleagues. Kumar is a slack-ass Indian-American who toys with the notion of attending medical school to appease his doctor father. These two twentysomething roommates have very little in common -- one's an introvert, the other an extrovert. Though, they bond over bong rips. Think: they're the 21st century's response to Felix and Oscar, only with an ethnic slant and a case of cottonmouth. After smoking out one evening, the duo seeks a sack of sliders -- wacky "high" jinks (Neil Patrick Harris aka Doogie Howser steals their car, Harold's attacked by a presumably rabietic raccoon, the two ride a chiefing cheetah) and hilarity ensue. Yeah, believe it or not, that's the story in a nutshell.\nWhat makes "White Castle" better than many films of its ilk is an acute sense of smarts. Sure, superficially speaking the flick is a stupid stoner comedy, but there's more going on beneath the surface. Harold and Kumar would be periphery characters, most likely stereotypical ones, in other teen flicks. Here, Cho and Penn imbue their roles with heart and humor, which makes for two likable, intelligent and handsome leading men. That the film addresses their races, while also presenting the characters as everymen, is refreshing.\nAs directed by "Dude, Where's My Car?" helmer Danny Leiner, this is a marked improvement. When I first saw "Dude," the only thing that came to mind was, "Dude, Where's My Eight Bucks?" Granted, subsequent viewings on HBO under the influence swayed me … marginally. While seeing "White Castle," I was sober as the wind, and the laughs still stuck (especially a dream sequence depicting the ups and downs of Kumar's romantic relationship with a huge sack of weed). The film also has an uncharacteristically sharp sense of style for a pot comedy -- an opening montage boasts slick jump cuts more often seen in art house fair.\nWhen all is said and done, "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" is very much akin to the burgers its heroes crave. That is to say, it's better consumed every so often while drunk or high.