A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
Holiday-Themed Sequel Features "Pot"-pourri of Stoner Hijinks
A
Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
Rated R for drug use, crude humor, pervasive profanity, graphic
sexuality, frontal nudity and violence.
Running time: 90 minutes
Distributor: Warner Brothers
Comedy
Directed By: Todd Strauss-Schulson
Written By: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
In Theaters: Nov 4, 2011
Film Review by Kam Williams
Very Good (3 stars)
As with Cheech and Chong’s string of classic stoner comedies of a
generation ago, it looks like longevity might also be in store for
relatively-nerdy Harold & Kumar’s series of similarly-themed, Marijuana
misadventures. Co-stars John Cho and Kal Penn
reprise their roles as the title characters here, with the movie marking the
latter’s return to the big screen after signing on to serve in the Obama
Administration a couple of years ago.
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, the third installment in the franchise,
unfolds a half-dozen years after the conclusion of the pot-smoking pair’s
previous outing, Escape from Guantanamo. At the point of departure, we learn
that the pals have grown apart over the interim, ostensibly because Harold
has married, settled in suburbia and taken a job on Wall Street while Kumar
has continued to enjoy the life of a carefree bachelor after getting kicked
out of med school for flunking a drug test.
Obviously, it is just a matter of time before the predictable plotline must
find an excuse to reunite the inseparable protagonists. That moment arrives
when Kumar decides to deliver a package addressed to his ex-roommate which
came to their old apartment. Although the suddenly-straitlaced Harold says
he’s "kinda glad all the craziness is behind me," the banker makeover is out
the window once they discover a mammoth, Bob Marley-sized joint inside the
parcel.
Upon lighting it, our heroes accidentally set fire to the Christmas tree
which, and so they subsequently embark on a desperate quest to replace it
before Harold’s wife (Paula Garces) and his in-laws return from Church. This
proves easier said than done, given that it’s late on Christmas Eve.
What ensues is your garden-variety ganja flick, except one featuring a
distinctly Yuletide spin. Better brace yourself for a Christmas wreath
festooned with cannabis instead of holly leaves, for plays on words about
"Winter Wonder Weed" and "Hannukah Hash," and to have big clouds of smoke
blown in your face in 3D.
While the uninitiated might consider the incessant association of the
holiday season with substance abuse almost blasphemous, fans of the
franchise will undoubtedly get a kick out of the relentless irreverence.
Along for the ride is Neil Patrick Harris again playing himself, as well as
a couple of new buddies in Adrian (Amir Blumenfeld) and Todd (Thomas
Lennon).
As the guys crisscross New York City in search of another 12-foot fir, they
encounter everything from fellow party animals to naked nuns to Ukrainian
mobsters to Santa Claus himself. A raunchy and religiously-incorrect roller
coaster ride for the very-open minded, not to be mistaken for one of those
traditional, sentimental Christmas yarns.
What’s in store for number four, Harold and Kumar get Uncle Sam high on the
Fourth of July?
Related Links
Kal Penn - The "A Very Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas" Interview
http://aalbc.com/reviews/kal_penn.html