A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas Review

Posted by Nolan Woodford on 11.04.2011

Do you reach a certain age when you're too old to get high and have a crazy adventure?



Harold Lee: John Cho
Kumar Patel: Kal Penn
Neil Patrick Harris: Neil Patrick Harris
Maria: Paula Garcés
Vanessa: Danneel Ackles
Mr. Perez: Danny Trejo
Todd: Thomas Lennon
Adrian: Amir Blumenfeld
Sergei Katsov: Elias Koteas
Mary: Jordan Hinson
Rosenberg: Eddie Kaye Thomas
Goldstein: David Krumholtz

Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema present a film directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson. Written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg.
Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language, drug use and some violence.
Running Time: 1 hour, 29 minutes
Release Date: November 4, 2011

I rented the DVD of Cheech and Chong's Hey, Watch This! a year or two ago and watched as a couple of guys in their 60's tried to re-create some of the same "stoner magic" they'd made thirty years prior. It had its moments, but just wasn't the same. There may be something to the fact that typically when older people are getting high in comedies, it's only when they never do it. That's not to say that Harold and Kumar have gotten old and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas isn't funny. But don't you reach a certain age when getting high and going to White Castle loses its luster?

Harold (Cho) and Kumar (Penn) are very clearly growing up, as six years have passed since they escaped from Guantanamo Bay and smoked the President's weed. Harold has embraced the role, working in a big New York City office and attempting to have a child with his wife Maria (Garcés). He's even given up smoking. Kumar, trying desperately to stunt his growing up, still lives in their old apartment and spends his Christmas Eve buying pot from the trunk of a department store Santa. The two haven't so much as talked in months, if not years, but are brought back together when a package arrives for Harold at Kumar's apartment.

The time spent getting the main characters to reunite often feels like time wasted. They've formed new friendships with Kumar pairing off with Adrian (Blumenfeld) - who would've been played by Nick Swardson if this were an Adam Sandler movie - and "Harry" befriending the annoying neighbor, Todd (Lennon). An incident involving Harold's father-in-law's (Trejo) beloved Christmas tree forces an unintentional swap, with Harold and Kumar joining back up and leaving Todd and Adrian to their proper roles as secondary characters.

The patched-together storyline involves Harold and Kumar searching throughout New York City to find a new Christmas tree before Mr. Perez - not Mr. Quesa Dilla (maybe Maria changed her name for her modeling career) - finds out what happened to the old one. This involves a run-in with a forgettable mob boss (Koteas) who wants the two dead because of a misunderstanding involving his daughter, a virgin named Mary (Hinson).

Not all of the humor in Harold & Kumar is as low-brow as "the virgin Mary" is, but it's not for the easily offended. The minds behind this clearly had fun taking advantage of the 3-D technology, as nothing is off limits to be flying out of the screen at you. Neil Patrick Harris again steals the show, playing a drug-addicted, womanizing version of himself, but his appearance is little more than a cameo. Despite a terrific musical number, this is the first Harold & Kumar movie where NPH's presence felt forced. Same with a scene involving the old neighbors, Rosenberg (Thomas) and Goldstein (Krumholtz).

It's too bad that they're not all neighbors anymore, but that's a part of growing up too. Goldstein even already has a son, and if Harold has his way he'll have one of his own in time for Harold & Kumar 4. He'll also be at least 40 years old if that movie gets made. In one scene of A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, Kumar admits that years of having the munchies are affecting his weight. That same sense of youthful exuberance that made a couple of dudes getting baked and getting some White Castle a lot of fun is fading fast. This film doesn't try and alienate its target audience and lets the opinion be known that you can still successfully grow up without completely giving up marijuana. But are we really going to want to see these guys getting baked if their wives are yelling and babies are crying in the other room?

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The 411: A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is very funny at times, but doesn't quite live up to the original or even the much less inspired Escape from Guantanamo Bay. For the first time, the title characters show signs of out-aging the stoner escapade. Even in a film where Santa Claus gets shot, the madcap nature of the first two Harold & Kumar movies is much less defined here. If you're a fan of the franchise, you shouldn't walk out completely disappointed. But you may walk out asking, "That's it?"

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]