A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas

My Grade:  B

Harold and Kumar are back in the last place I thought I would see them... a Christmas movie.  Now, before we get into this film, I must tell you that I saw it in 2D and it is CLEARLY made for 3D.  You may think I am saying this because of the title, but it is more than that.  Even in 2D, I could practically see certain moments in 3D because of how exploitive these moments are with the 3D.  It’s like the things you would see in a Spongebob ride at a theme park while you’re wearing those goofy, paper goggles and your seat is moving in sync with the video.  I’m not sure I could take that for an hour and a half; so I guess it’s good I saw it in 2D.

    

The good thing about doing a sequel is that you don’t have to really worry about developing the characters.  That’s what the first and second installments are for.  But H&K 3 (I’m not typing the full title every time), shows us a side of these two potheads that we haven’t seen before.  It shows their softer side - their nicer side.  They are more grown up and it shows.  There is a lot more substance here than in the other two films combined.  The other two are sort of about friendship and going after what you want no matter what the cost; but this film really dives into the subject of friendship and what it really means.  It is even downright touching at times (which I didn’t expect from Harold and Kumar).

    

The plot, just like the others, is OUT THERE.  If I described it here, you wouldn’t believe it.  But it somehow makes sense while you are watching.  I must warn you that it is rather predictable, though.  Which, for how off-the-wall the story is, you wouldn’t think it would be predictable.  I do give the writing team credit, though, on one twist.  The reason why one really attractive girl has never been with a guy is not exactly what you would expect (that’s all I’ll say... no spoilers).  So kudos to Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg.  

    

The jokes are pretty good.  I didn’t fall out of my chair laughing.  I didn’t laugh until my sides hurt or until I cried, but I laughed a good bit.  I wouldn’t say this is the funniest film of the year, but if you like the other two, you will like this one.  The additions of Amir Blumenfeld (collegehumor.com) and Thomas Lennon ("Reno 911") are great.  These two are the “new friends” and they are such great opposites of each other, while being interesting foils of Harold and Kumar.  They bring about some good scenes but end up moving aside for the real leaders of the film, John Cho and Kal Penn, to take over.  People want to see Harold and Kumar; not Todd (Lennon) and Adrian (Blumenfeld).

    

It’s not all good, though.  The film starts very slowly.  I was even thinking to myself, “what’s the point” and “why did I pay to see this?”  But as the film continues, I started to see the point, fell into the story, and really enjoyed myself.  Also, the script fell back on the same joke a number of times, which got old.  I don’t want to tell too much about the joke so I don’t ruin anything, but it involves drugs (no surprise there) and someone who shouldn’t be doing drugs.  When you see it, you will know what I’m talking about because you will probably get tired of this running gag as well - and possibly offended.

    

Finally, my biggest problem is how Harold and Kumar get out of a certain sticky situation.  It is very deus ex machina which, if you have read some of my other reviews, you know I hate.  It would be much more powerful if Harold and Kumar were actually involved in their escape.

    

Overall, I really enjoyed H&K 3 but it is not without it’s problems.  It’s not something that I will want to see over and over again, but it was well worth the three dollars I paid to see it.  And, surprisingly, it actually does what a Christmas movie is supposed to do:  warm your heart and make you smile.  Call it cheesy if you want, but I think it’s nice.