Huge Oversight

All I could think after watching this movie last Friday was, "Why did I wait so long to see that??" I didn't know it was the same director as Dude, Where's My Car? At least I made the right choice with that movie and saw it in the theater.

It is totally inexcusable that it took me six years to finally get around to watching Harold & Kumar. If anyone reading this has made the same unforgivable mistake, it's not too late to do the right thing and watch it immediately.

One thing that's fun about this movie is that the main characters are both intelligent (not that this stops them from doing a lot of dumb things). And both actors are awesome. John Cho, who played Harold, went on to do a kick-ass portrayal of Sulu in the Star Trek movie, while Kal Penn (Kumar) now works for the White House! I love the fact that we now have a President who is happy to hire an actor best known for playing a pot-smoking slacker:

"Actor Kal Penn is trading Hollywood for politics, taking a job with the White House doing outreach to Asian-Americans and the arts community.

"The Indian-American, whose given name is Kalpenn Modi, said Tuesday he would be joining President Obama's administration and will not take any acting gigs while he holds the full-time position.

"Mr. Penn is best known for playing Kumar in the comedy “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” and its sequel, “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.”

"But Mr. Penn, 31, also was one of the most reliable surrogates for the Obama campaign since the beginning.

"Campaign aides said in 2007 the actor called them to offer his unsolicited help for Mr. Obama's then long-shot candidacy. Some were hesitant at first because Mr. Penn's best-known role was playing a marijuana-loving burnout, but he surpassed their best expectations and attracted young voters across the nation.

"He was instrumental in the Obama strategy of getting students as young as 17 to participate in the Iowa caucus, the Democrat's first victory. Mr. Penn starred in at least 14 campaign videos on YouTube and appeared at multiple events on the candidate's behalf.

"He will serve as an associate director in the Office of Public Liaison, coordinating outreach to Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, along with the arts community. He described the office to Entertainment Weekly as “the front door to the White House.” The office was responsible for the recent celebrations in honor of St. Patrick's Day and Greek Independence Day.

"Among the little known facts about the actor: He was a guest lecturer teaching Asian-American studies at the University of Pennsylvania in 2008, and he is doing an online program to earn a graduate degree in international studies from Stanford University.

"He also acknowledged it will result in a large pay cut: “There's not a lot of financial reward in these jobs. But, obviously, the opportunity to serve in a capacity like this is an incredible honor.”