Review: Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

April 25th 2008, 12:00am

PLOT:
A couple of hours after Harold and Kumar decided to take that fateful trip to White Castle in New Jersey, another adventure begins. The pair decide that Harold probably should get laid, and since he finally spoke to Maria, they must follow her to Amsterdam. But in what may be one of the worst airport experiences ever, Kumar finds that his ex is marrying some rich guy, that is kind of an ass. After that horrible realization, they end up getting arrested as terrorists, because Kumar cannot wait to get high. Hi-jinx and a few moments of hilarity soon follow.

REVIEW:
HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE was a fresh and slightly funny film. While it wasn’t as hilarious as it could have been, it was a clever tale of two dudes getting high and looking for the greatest burger in the world. Both John Cho and Kal Penn made it easy to root for Harold and his buddy Kumar. And the film had fun in regards to racism and the whole idea of judging people on what they look like and not who they are. It was, dare I say a cute film, one which now has a sequel that makes the first look like it might fit perfectly on Hilary Duff’s resume. Yes, HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY is a much more extreme film, with masturbation and a whole lot of cum, a bottom-less party which features more full frontal female nudity than you will likely see for awhile (something missing from mainstream Hollywood far too long), and a slew of jokes on terrorism (or as the George Bush character puts it, “terrorizers”). While not as fresh as the original, it sure makes up for it in audacity.

This new installment takes place right after the original, literally like an hour or two after. Harold (Cho) finally talked to the sexy neighbor Maria (Paula Garcés). But it is too late, she is going away on a modeling trip to Amsterdam. So of course, both Harold and Kumar decide that they want more than burgers this time. They decide to follow Harold’s chance at romantic bliss to the city where drugs and sex are all good, all the time. While at the airport, they run into an old friend named Vanessa (Danneel Harris). This is all bad considering she used to be the girl that Kumar loved, and now she is with her rich and arrogant fiancé, Colton (Eric Winter). There is a whole lot of romantic entanglement going on here, but that is not the point. The insanity ensues when they get on board their flight, and Kumar can’t wait for a hit. Once he pulls out his “smokeless bong”… you guessed it, it looks like another b-word that is none too popular in airports these days. I’m guessing the reaction would be much worse in the real world.

Now with that said, they do get punished and sent to Guantanamo Bay. It is there that they realize all prisoners must feast on the guard’s cock meat sandwich. I’m not kidding. Lucky for our heroes, they escape cock free, and find themselves on the run from the most racist authority… ever, played by Rob Corddry. And from here on out, the movie is just a series of adventures while the two try and evade the law, and while they’re at it, stop a wedding. And much like the first film, there are several characters that the duo meet along the way while causing a laugh or two. But for some reason, this time out, it all seemed so damn random. Much of their story felt like small little skits that were funny, but occasionally ran on too long. Again, Kal and John are well-suited for their roles. But in one of the funniest, and most random moments, Neil Patrick Harris (who once again, plays Neil Patrick Harris) steals the show. His alcoholic, womanizing, and thoughtless character is absolutely hilarious. I don’t want to give anything away, but this is probably the best sequence in the film.

As I said, this is not necessarily laugh out loud funny all the way through, but I did prefer it to the original. The fact that this is so over the top, and so heartily riding the envelope, I appreciated it even more. From the bottom-less party, the in-bred boy, to a KKK meeting gone wrong, this really felt like a return to the golden age of T & A. For some reason, it reminded me of PORKY’S 2: THE NEXT DAY. Comparatively, the first one felt safe. Yes, the freshness is gone, but I appreciated the disregard for good taste, even if some of it seemed to take a little too much time. I also didn’t really like the fact that the “George W. Bush” character (James Adomian) didn’t look a thing like our President. And that sequence definitely felt like it took a little too much time. But still, while not a perfect film, Harold and Kumar’s second time around did manage a few real laughs. I think this would be a perfect film to enjoy with some buddies on DVD with punch and pie, or you know… whatever you think would be good for a movie about drugs and sex and more drugs.
My rating 6.5/10 — JimmyO