Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)
Directed Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
Written by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
Starring John Cho, Kal Penn, Rob Corddry, Neil Patrick Harris
Release Date April 25th, 2008
Published April 25th, 2008
Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle was a harmless little stoner comedy with two likable if not all that well known stars. That same description still fits as Harold and Kumar get sequelized in Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. John Cho and Kal Penn are becoming better known and they have a lovable chemistry but saddled with gags that likely will not age well in the years to come, they come up short in Escape from Guantanamo Bay.
Picking up where the original film left off, Harold and Kumar are just an hour away from boarding a flight to Amsterdam where Harold (John Cho) hopes to win the heart of Maria (Paula Garces). Kumar is supporting his buddy but the opportunity for some legalized weed smoking in the sin capital of Europe holds just as much appeal for him.
Unfortunately for Harold, Kumar cannot wait to get to Amsterdam before he gets high again. Fashioning a device he claims is a smokeless bong, Kumar intends to get high in the airplane bathroom when his bong is glimpsed by another passenger and he is mistaken as a terrorist with a bomb. Coming to his aid, Harold too is called a terrorist and the plane is sent home so our heroes can be arrested.
Confronted by an overzealous homeland security agent (Rob Corddry), Harold and Kumar wind up at the terrorist holding facility at Guantanamo Bay desperate to escape. They hope to reach Texas where a well connected friend might get them out of trouble. That friend happens to be marrying Kumar's ex Vanessa (Daneel Harris) adding some tension to the situation.
That plot gives Harold and Kumar a little motivation. The crux of Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay however is lowbrow gross out humor (two characters get peed on, amongst other gross out gags), a whole lot of drug humor, and some daring if clumsy racial humor. Race played a small but pivotal role in the original film as H & K faced off with a number of racists and stereotypes.
In Escape From Guantanamo Bay the racial component of the story becomes far more prominent. Kumar's skin color gets him pulled out line for extra security checks at the airport. On the plane an old woman is horrified to be on the flight with Kumar, imagining him as a terrorist. Finally, Rob Corddry's Homeland Security agent engages in every imaginable stereotype as he investigates Harold and Kumar's escape.
Equal opportunity offenders, Harold and Kumar themselves judge books by their cover especially in a detour through Alabama and an encounter with a backwoods resident with a number of surprises in store. As I said, the racial humor of Harold and Kumar is clumsy at best. It has the wit of one of those drunken college parties meant to protest political correctness but is really just mildly racist.
Most damaging however is that Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay is not nearly as funny as it thinks it is. Many scenes show Harold and Kumar and their supporting cast delighting in their antics to a degree of joy and humor well beyond anything the audience is feeling. I'm glad they had a good time, I just wish I had had a better time watching.
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