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Starring
John Cho and Kal Penn
Directed by
Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg
Final Grade:
A / FRated R for strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language and drug use
Escape from Guantanamo Bay
a review by Heith Carnahan
The Rundown
Picking up right where 2004's Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle left off, the two stoner buddies are preparing to board a flight to Amsterdam so Harold can find Maria (the beautiful girl who lives in his building and who will be back in the States in ten days anyway, Harold) and profess his love.
Kumar's dogged insistence that they light up some weed on the plane sparks (ahem) a terrorism scare, and the two are carted off to prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They promptly escape and make their way back to the U.S. so they can clear their names, and does it really matter past this point?
As much fun as the first
Like so many other comedies of this ilk, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay really defies review. It's silly that someone sits down to write a review to begin with. You can't give it an A because it's so screwball, you can't give it an F because it's so funny, and anything in between gives entirely too much thought to such a goofball project. What's a critic to do...
John Cho in particular hits all the right notes this time around; his Harold was sufficiently subdued last time around, but this time his comedic timing is right on the money. Kal Penn's Kumar isn't given as much of the funny this time around; he acts as more of a plot obstacle for Harold, who by now is tired of getting into trouble because of his irresponsible friend. There's also a surprising amount of character development for a movie like this; as the movie goes on, you'll glimpse layers you wouldn't have dreamed existed, given the mentality.
Too bad nobody cares about any of this. This new Harold & Kumar is funny -- damn funny -- and
I'd recommend it to anyone who even remotely enjoyed the original.
The Bottom Line
It's hilarious. You'll know from the name whether it's your cuppa tea, so there's nothing I can do for you. It's not like you can be on the fence about a movie like this.
-- Heith Carnahan, heith @ movie-popcorn.com