March 13, 2007

Harold and Kumar get a namesake



Tonight, I saw The Namesake, which is the story about how the great screen legend, Kumar, got his name. Kumar got his name because his dad read it in a book during a train crash, and decided to give the book to his son when he graduated high school. As he got older, Kumar, sick of being pressured into going to medical school, rebelled by telling his parents that he didn't like his name and wanted to change it. However, New Line Cinema wouldn't let him do so because he's signed onto do a big budget sequel where he goes to Amsterdam with his friend, Harold.

There was also a girl who liked to read books who somehow spoke in a British accent even though she was from Bangladesh and went to Paris for school. Kumar married her after nailing some white girl for half the movie, and it turned out (!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!) that she was cheating on him with a guy named Pierre. This was a good example of dramatic irony, because Kumar lost his marriage to a guy with a sillier name than his. It was during this tragic turn of events when Kumar finally decided to accept his given name.

The most powerful scenes of the movie took place when (!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!) Kumar's dad died. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when, during the grieving process, Kumar shaved his head, dressed up in a bathrobe, and lit a bunch of flowers on fire. There was, however, a sense of hope at the end, when Kumar learned how to read the book his father gave him, and Kumar's mother sang her hit song "Ayayayayaya".

It was a good movie.

**** (four stars).

3 comments:

Unknown said...

making kumar

Vince said...

Unfortunately, Kumar, in his search for his roots or whatever, became a radical anti-American and would attempt to wreak nuclear destruction on the country. Thankfully, Jack Bauer would end his life with a bullet.

jason said...

It's a shame, because it seemed like his friend, Van Wilder, had taught him to appreciate the joys of America.