It’s also an example of a movie where Malin Akerman gets naked. Although imperfect, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle is a textbook example of stereotype subversion in Hollywood. The series’ first film was lauded by critics as a surprise summer pleaser, film critic Stephanie Zacharek of Salon commending how it “stretches the boundaries of offensiveness in ways that both make us laugh and make us think.” Its refusal to adhere to fictitious portrayals of ethnic demographics while still maintaining dignity in mainstream movies is a feat not to be ignored. The franchise’s unique approach that separates it from usual Hollywood fare is the casting of Asian-American males in the lead roles a fountain spring for the series’ comedy is society’s racism and its archaic existence in the 21 st century. The franchise’s success has been attributed for several reasons: its irreverent humor towards drugs, sex, and popular culture, the show-stopping performances by Neil Patrick Harris, and perhaps most importantly, the subversion of Asian-American stereotypes. The movie’s success has spawned two sequels, Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay in 2008, and the yet-to-be released A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas, due in early November. This stoner comedy follows one night in the lives of two twenty-somethings, Harold and Kumar, and their midnight road trip in a quest to satisfy their hunger while running into (and from) trouble along the way. In the summer of 2004, New Line Cinema released Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle to critical and commercial success. Who wants to read that? Seriously, college professors. Nothing drastic, just removing some of the MLA citations so you folks don’t get burned out reading a bunch of numbers in parenthesis. I’m going with C, but I’ll let you be the judge as I’m giving you the entire essay right here. Well, I got a 95 on it, which means A) It’s probably a good paper B) John Cho and Kal Penn made an offer to my professor she couldn’t refuse, or C) She didn’t read it. Believe it or not, when I told my professor about my subject she thought I would be condemning the flick. Last semester I wrote an essay on Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle and its satirical yet positive portrayal of Asian Americans in 21st century Hollywood cinema.