Plot: Six years have elapsed since Guantanemo Bay, leaving Harold and Kumar estranged from one another with very different families, friends and lives. But when Kumar arrives on Harold’s doorstep during the holiday season with a mysterious package in hand, he inadvertently burns down Harold’s father-in-law’s beloved Christmas tree. To fix the problem, Harold and Kumar embark on a mission through New York City to find the perfect Christmas tree, once again stumbling into trouble at every single turn.
Review: This movie picked up years after the adventures of Guantanamo Bay and finds the main duo in very different points in their lives. As someone who has seen the previous 2 films in the series it’s a very relieving, and somewhat predictable,to see that both characters are exactly where you would think they are in their lives. Kumar is the introverted stoner who lives alone after driving away those close to him due to his incessant irresponsible attitude toward about everything and Harold is a successful businessman enjoying his life after marrying the girl of his dreams, Maria. This is all fun and good but the real question is whether or not this movie is fun and more importantly funny.
This is the first Harold and Kumar movie that’s delivered to us in 3D and you’ll notice in the trailers that the movie decides to use, and abuse, this extra dimension to it’s fullest extent. All of the predictable tongue in cheek use of the medium do in fact occur including random eggs being hurled at a viewers’ face and a thick fog of smoke filling the theater at the appropriate times. It’s all very predictable but that’s good because you want them film makers be a little predictable in a movie like this and they deliver the goods. There are very specific scenes where the physical humor heavily relies on the effect the deliver the joke, which could be lost to those watching a flat image, and the 3rd dimension is something heavily used throughout the movie so if you do intend to watch this then I would have to recommend considering this 3D route to ensure you receive the exact experience the film makers intended.
This isn’t a movie where I can easily nitpick about the performances of the crew involved, but that’s mainly because the movie is so tongue in cheek that you have to forgive any inherent disbelief as you shouldn’t believe anything you see, or at least hope that this kind of stuff doesn’t really happen to people. Harold and Kumar provide us with a relationship and comradery that exceeds anything previously seen in the series and is highlighted by a new, shockingly explicit, spin on the famous scene from a Christmas Story with the tongue and flagpole. These guys genuinely seem like that they’ve naturally grown in their relationship in various ways that is culminated with a surprisingly heartwarming monologue from Harold. It’s actually a very touching scene and fit in remarkably well considering the caricature nature of the series.
The pacing of the movie gets disjointed at times but is quickly forgiven by the hilarity of the outrageous scenarios that the duo tend to find themselves in throughout a crazy night in NYC. There are a few scenes where I thought the movie dragged, including everything claymation, but those moments are few and typically brief. This movie happened to feature some of funniest negligence of a child that I’ve ever seen in film. Some parents may not want their kids watching some of this but if you brought your kid to this movie in the first place then you need to re-consider your decision making in life.
Danny Trejo was a welcome surprise in the movie and he delivered one of the most foreboding father figures in recent memory. The guy already has a face that says “don’t F with me” but when you attach that face to the father of your sexy sexy sexy wife then you are in double trouble when he thinks you ruined her Christmas. Neil Patrick Harris’ appearance was drastically shorter than I’d hoped but every single scene that he was in was an immediate highlight to the film. If I were to highlight any fallacy of this movie then it would be that there’s for too little of NPH. Neil’s performance, timing, delivery, and presence oozed with NPH. Yeah, that’s an adjective. I sat hoping that he would continue to join the duo in the rest of their adventure as he’d done in the past but that just didn’t happen.
As I stated earlier the movie is disjointly paced. There are scenes that drag on for far too long and others that are far too brief. This culminates in a feeling that the movie may actually be “too long” and some scenes would be better suited for the cutting room floor or as a bonus on the eventual home release. This odd pacing is really affects the 2nd act of the movie but improves as the film transitions into the 3rd act.
Overall: It was a bit too long, they decide to use the dreaded penis humor, and there’s a scene within the movie where everything is transformed into a claymation that I didn’t really enjoy but didn’t detract from my overall impression of this film. I wasn’t that big of a fan of the last Harold and Kumar movie but this 3rd entry had enough fun, comedy, and a sense of endearing warmth that’s just perfect for the Christmas season and enough to easily redeem itself from the pacing problems. It’s a fun movie and if you have an opportunity then I highly recommend that you watch this movie in theaters to enjoy the physical comedy that relies on the effect.
I give Harold and Kumar an 7 out of 10.
