A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas is a bad trip
Tamara Khandker
Staff writer
A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas is a disappointing addition to this year’s list of horrendous sequels. Gone is the magic of the first two instalments, replaced with a series of obvious attempts to shock the audience, shameless self-promotion, and overwhelming in-your-face product placement.
Six years have passed since Harold and Kumar’s eventful escape from Guantanamo Bay, and the two best friends have grown apart. Harold (John Cho) gives up weed, becoming a successful, family-oriented businessman, while Kumar’s (Kal Penn) apathetic ways keep him in the same place—in a rocky relationship, and on the couch, smoking a bong.
When a package for Harold arrives at Kumar’s apartment, where they both used to live, Kumar has no choice but to face an awkward reunion with his former partner in crime. Along with their new friends Adrian (Amir Blumenfeld) and Todd (Thomas Lennon), the duo embark on a journey find and decorate the perfect Christmas tree.
The addition of the two supporting characters has its perks and downfalls. A secondary plot, involving a psychopathic gangster and a baby that keeps accidentally ingesting hard drugs, is sadly one of the few things in the movie I found funny.
Todd and Adrian represent amplified versions of Harold and Kumar respectively, and the time we spend getting to know them almost feels like filler—there is much less interaction between the two main characters who spend a lot of time with their new friends.
Typically, these comedies are not meant to be picked at, and get their laughs by being crude and offensive.
This movie, however, cuts across all boundaries of what is considered appropriate and acceptable in film, without any real purpose. Anything that can be handled with even a small degree of subtlety is instead turned into a blunt over-exaggeration of a joke.
Neil Patrick Harris, who is alive and well after being shot in Guantanamo—go figure—appears once again. His shocking and outrageous cameo, as well as a scene where Cho’s private parts are stuck to a pole, make you wonder what the next frontier in comedy will be. At an advance screening, Penn joked, “Next, we’re going to just show organs.”
Some other familiar faces also make brief appearances. One, whose sole purpose seems to be to advertise a Sharp TV, appears in the first few minutes and is never seen again.
While no one has approached them with ideas, Harris did hint at a fourth installment. “It’s flattering to know that both Harold and Kumar have touched so many people. I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to making another film,” says Penn.
While some parts are, of course, hilarious, there are too many unfunny moments to make this a theatre-worthy movie. It’s a DVD rental at best. If the writers plan to continue on this path of recycling old jokes, I think the franchise has run its course.
