the harold and kumar scale

i’m a huge movie fan, the meme that circulated recently doesn’t even begin to cover it. i come by this love of the big screen honestly, my mother was huge fan and took the time to introduce me to her screen idols. strangely we don’t go out to the movies much any more, but with netflix and cable tv, it’s easy to catch up eventually.

i will watch almost anything; except the new school of american horror or as it’s more appropriately titled gore porn; and every now and again i’ll come across a movie so depressing or so lacking in redemption that I have to find something that will not necessarily uplift but at least cleanse the palette. mind you, i don’t expect every movie i watch to be uplifting and bring a sense of purpose to my life, but i also don’t enjoy being emotionally drained and feeling like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. the movie that brings that balance back for me is Harold & Kumar go to White Castle, listed hereafter as H&KG2WK.

the first time i need a moment of H&KG2WK was after watching Lord of War with Nicholas Cage. i’m not a fan of Cage, but the movie kept me engrossed and the child soldiers demoralised me. i was numb after watching the movie and i was flipping through the channels to get my mind clear when i happened on H&KG2WK. it was hysterical, it was silly and it was just the sort of brain bleach i needed.

so i developed the scale, with the number being how many times would i need to watch H&KG2WK to rinse a particular movie from my mind. here are a few examples:

lord of war – 2 H&KG2WK
the heart deceitful above all things – 12 H&KG2WK
hard candy – 4 H&KG2WK
requiem for a dream – 6 H&KG2WK

i could go on but you get the idea.