HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY (2008)

HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY
*½
Rating: R
Length: 102 minutes
Directors: Jon Hurwtiz and Hayden Schlossberg
Writers: Jon Hurwitz (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) and Hayden Schlossberg (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle)
Starring: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Beverly D’Angelo, David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Roger Bart, Rob Corddry, Danneel Harris, Eric Winter, Paula Garces, Missi Pyle

I didn’t see the appeal in the first “Harold & Kumar”. Sorry. I thought I would love it. It had the makings of a cult classic (which it did, in it’s own goofy way, become), but failed to connect with me. I just didn’t find it very funny. It had it’s moments, I won’t deny that, I just couldn’t see what the big deal was about (one of my friends was extremely and I mean extremely into the movie- and he had never smoked pot before). The sequel is a downward slope from the first film. If you didn’t like “White Castle”, I wouldn’t even bother. Put it this way, despite the first movie’s popularity and profit that it delivered in the DVD market, this was still going to be a direct-to-DVD release until the studio heads changed their minds. I’m guessing that one of the reasons so many “people” (and by this I mean “stoners”) identified with the first film was that, despite it’s obvious over-the-top moments, it was still a bit slated in reality. Sure, you wouldn’t expect Neil Patrick Harris to role up to you, snorting blow and hanging out with prostitutes (particularly since his announcement that he was a homosexual after the first movie’s release) or many of the other oddball events of the first film, but for a “stoner” comedy, it was about as real as the “Cheech & Chong” epics were (Sorry- also hugely overrated as well). This movie has the duo being mistaken for terrorists on a plane to Amsterdam, escaping from a Guantanamo Bay prison (very easily might I add and briefly too, despite the title), running into Neil Patrick Harris again (who apparently is over his infatuation with dudes), and sky diving into George W. Bush’s (James Adomian) house, where they smoke out with him and use his presidential security to break up the wedding of Kumar (Kal Penn)’s ex-girlfriend (Danneel Harris). The jokes are all on the level of the “battle shit” gag of the first film. The opening scene, in fact, opens with Kumar going number two while Harold (John Cho) takes a shower. There’s also a scene where the two end up at a party where it’s mandatory to go “bottomless” (any female that has ever complained that girls can show everything in movies and guys can’t have to be eating their words these days). John Cho and Kal Penn have proven that they can both be appealing actors. Penn can’t seem to land the right gig (though I’ve heard he is excellent in “The Namesake”), but he flashes charm in what he’s given. Cho, on the other hand, seems to be destined for better. Despite the playing the rather youthful Harold here, he is actually thirty six years old. You get the feeling that he has to feel like he could be doing something a little better with his career.

Download Soundtrack MP3s:
Mark Ronson (Ft. Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife, & Saigon) - Ooh Wee
Mickey Avalon- My Dick (Right Click and “Save As”)

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