Before Kal Penn put the Kumar in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, he played Mohan Bakshi in Dude, Where's the Party?. This 2003 movie was an independent film that found its way into a few film festivals. Originally the movie was titled Where's the Party, Yaar?, but with the high DVD sales of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, why not milk the Kal Penn name and also change the title to resemble another popular teen comedy? Dude, Where's the Party? sounds a lot like another slapstick teen comedy, Dude, Where's My Car?, and it is hard not to associate the two together. However, this movie is far from comical and proves to be quite lackluster.

The story is about Harishkumar 'Hari' Patel (Sunil Malhotra) who is an Indian immigrant. He has come to the United States to begin work in dual master programs in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Along with his studies, Hari has been told that he'll find the woman of his dreams in the United States. In the US he stays with his aunt and uncle. This is where the other main character comes into play. Mohan 'Mo' Bakshi (Kal Penn) is basically the exact opposite of Hari. Mo doesn't really care about school or pleasing his parents. He has been Americanized and only cares about girls and partying.

After the introduction of the two main characters, the story focuses on two different aspects. Hari's character is constantly trying to fit in and be accepted, while Mo struggles with his selfish persona and tries to become a more respectable person. Of course they both have girls they are chasing after, who ultimately become a driving point for Hari wanting to find the party and Mo wanting to be a better person.

The problem with this movie is it fails to grab the viewer's attention. It is pushed as a comedy, yet it is not funny. There are a few small jokes that are worth a chuckle, but not nearly enough to make this movie a laugh fest. The supporting characters are also supposed to add a dimension of comedy, but fail miserably. Their roles are generally given with over-the-top performances that feel to extreme and come off more annoying than humorous. The main characters are both played well. Hari encompasses just about every East Indian stereotype there is. On the other hand, Mo seems to stray away from those stereotypes and he fits the stereotypical Americanized youth. Both roles are played well, but their interactions with each other and the supporting characters rarely produce a genuinely funny moment.

The story itself wasn't a major breakthrough. Nothing really seems to happen in the movie. Mo is forced to get a job and soon realizes the importance of family, friendship, and hard work. Hari has an even bigger task at hand. He has to become accustomed to the American daily life and culture shock is not something easy to deal with. Another part of this story that plays a fairly big role is the "where's the party?" factor. Well, this portion is basically about a promoter of an Indian club who refuses to let non-Americanized Indians in the club. In the second half of the movie it becomes a goal for Hari to attend a party that the promoter doesn't want his "kind" at and Mo is conflicted because he works for the promoter.

The bottom line is that Dude, Where' the Party has very little offer. The movie proves to be dull and lackluster. The jokes are mildly entertaining and there are only a few laughs assorted here and there. While the roles of the main characters are performed well, it isn't enough to make the dull story into something worthwhile.

The DVD

Video:
This DVD release is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The quality is pretty good, but not great. It has some noticeable flaws in the picture which was due to the film. Besides that it looks fairly average.

Audio:
The audio is given in English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The audio track is not very impressive and offers a fairly standard listening experience. It is flat with little distinction between audio channels.

Extras:
The extras for this release are very slim. They include trailers that run in a single clip for Lil Pimp, Laffs From the Hood, The Cookout, and Eulogy.

Final Thoughts:
This movie started off very slow and continued in that manner. The tempo never really seemed to pick up and the story never seemed to get interesting. The two approaches used: the world from an Indian immigrant's perspective and an Americanized Indian's perspective, added very little to the overall movie and while dubbed a comedy, the jokes were sparse and offered little. The bottom line is that Dude, Where's the Party? isn't going to leave you laughing wanting more. It's a dry movie with very little entertainment or replay value.