I saw this a long time ago, probably 2005 or so. I remember being pleasantly surprised. There was mention of Neil Patrick Harris yesterday, and I remembered him being a highlight of this movie, so I decided to watch it again.
I think I like it more than I did back then. I’m seeing the unrated version now, which just means a bit more nudity, some of which adds to the surreal qualities of the movie. I’ll get the one scene I really don’t care for, and that’s the toilet scene. It’s not terrible, and it might play better for some age groups, but it seems out of place at that point in the story.
The things that I like are much more unusual things. Playing with the audience perception of racial stereotypes. Putting an Asian guy as a romantic lead. Even the appearances of some of the guest stars are about subverting the audience expectations of them. Neil Patrick Harris is a strange, messed up, horny guy. Christopher Meloni is cast wearing a bunch of weird deformities on his head.
None of the white male characters are positive or honorable. This doesn’t bug me. It’s actually pretty refreshing.
It’s also remarkable how the movie takes a premise that revolves so centrally around White Castle, and manages to prevent the movie from feeling like an ad for the chain. It never says anything bad about their food, and the good material is glowing. But it feels completely real. These cravings happen. I remember one day in college where a bunch of us started thinking about how great it would be to get Subway.
I also like how well the movie ramps up the craziness. It reaches a peak a little early, but it seemed like it didn’t make logistical sense to arrange it any different way.
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