Review: 'Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay'

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BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS | Chicago Tribune

April 25, 2008

Greasy, hazy good fun, "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" (2004) got by on a 4 a.m. mixture of explosive-emission toilet jokes, gratuitous nudity and Neil Patrick Harris as himself. Everything took place in one night, hinging on a single quest rife with detours. Crass? Yes. But there was a merry spirit to it all.

A far more strident sort of crassness pervades "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay." The sequel picks up - and tokes up - where the original left off. New Jersey roommates Harold and Kumar set off for Amsterdam, so Harold can chase the woman of his dreams (Paula Garces) while the lads can smoke all the mezz they desire - legally. On the plane, Kumar hauls out a homemade bong, which is mistaken for a bomb. Off to Gitmo!

The rest of the movie, written and directed as lurching, occasionally funny skits by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, keeps H&K one step ahead of a venal Homeland Security chief (Rob Corddry), and Kumar on the trail of his ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Danneel Harris). The ex is due to marry a Texas family friend of the Bush clan. The president, portrayed by the world's worst W. impersonator, shows up late to this fairly draggy party, in order to get high with the boys and explain to them that "you don't have to like your government to be a good American. You just have to love your country."

At least one scene rivals anything in the first outing. It's a flashback to H&K's college days, complete with perfect haircuts and pleasingly nostalgic vibe, a memory of when Kumar met the lovely Vanessa. The rest of the time you find yourself smiling at some of the bits, wincing through many, many others, and ultimately wondering if the pacing would've improved had either H or K developed a terrible cocaine habit.

HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY (R). Sequel to "White Castle" picks up just a toke or so later. With John Cho and Kal Penn reprising their roles and Neil Patrick Harris again playing himself. 1:42 (strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language and drug use). At area theaters.