Real Talk with Harold and Kumar

One of this year’s most eagerly awaited movies is a sequel to one of the most popular comedies of the decade. And as John Cho put it, the “political premise is a way to make fart and poo jokes funnier.”

Cho and Kal Penn co-star in the upcoming film Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, set to release nationwide in theaters this Friday, April 25.

After the cult-like success the duo’s first film Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle garnered in 2004, a sequel was inevitable. The first film revolved around the two title characters, who decide to go to the fast-food restaurant White Castle after smoking marijuana.

Penn credited the making of a sequel to the support the fans gave to the DVD.
Both Cho and Penn are hopeful that the new movie will be a bigger theatrical hit than the first film, which they said didn’t really become popular until its DVD release.

“Really it just depends on whether people vote with their dollars for this movie, just like the first one,” Cho said.

Cho and Penn are a rare breed of actor that exhibit academic excellence in addition to success in TV and film. John Cho went to the Univerity of California Berkeley and studied English Literature. Kal Penn went to the University of California Los Angeles, where he studied film and theater. Penn also said he is “very slowly doing a grad program at Stanford in International Security and International Studies.”

Penn commented that it bothers him when people refer to him as “Kumar,” and with good reason. He said his real-life personality differs greatly from the character he portrays. He noted that he doesn’t even smoke weed or eat fast food.

“Probably one of the true things on the Internet about us is that John Cho is more of a Kumar in real life, and I am more of a Harold. So the roles are definitely switched,” he said.

“If you played characters that were similar to you all the time it would be pretty boring,” Penn said.

The new movie was written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, the same duo that wrote the original film. Cho and Penn said the pot-smoking, hamburger-craving Harold and Kumar will be the same, except this time they’ll be running away for their lives and to secure their freedom.

Cho said that the writers for the second film added subversive, political humor that wasn’t in the first film.

“They needed something bigger and better, and at the time the Guantanamo stuff was really in the news, as it continues to be. So they felt that would be a fun way to get that going.”

Although the film’s political premise resonates with the U.S.’s current election issues, Penn declined to discuss his recent public support of Barack Obama. The actor visited IU on March 29 to speak to students about his support for the presidential candidate.
Penn echoed Cho’s sentiments that the movie is first and foremost a comedy.

“I don’t think it’s a political film in terms of taking a stance on anything, but definitely it inherently deals with some of the pop culture that surrounds the political sphere right now,” Penn said.

Cho said the new film mixes elements from multiple genres including gross-out humor, political themes, action and even a love story.

The two films forgo the conventions of typical stoner comedies in that the main characters are not apathetic slackers. Harold and Kumar are highly intelligent characters. Harold has a successful career as an investment banker, and Kumar has perfect MCAT scores.

This creation of two successful college graduates is part of the reason the characters of Harold and Kumar have become two of the most beloved stoners in today’s popular culture.

Cho said that in comparison to the violent movies that share an R rating with Guantanamo Bay, he feels this movie has a relatively innocent attitude to it.
“I feel like our humor, even though it crosses certain lines, manages to be fun and innocent in a strange way,” Cho said. “It’s mostly about having fun.”