Although stoner movies aren’t exactly my thing, I have to admit that I somewhat enjoyed the 2004 comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. I actually just saw that film a few months ago, and though I didn’t think it was nearly as good as its reputation and cult following led me to believe, it wasn’t a total waste of time. So when I heard that a sequel was made, I figured I might as well see that one too.
This time, however, I wasn’t as forgiving of the stupid plot and quirky situations that the characters get themselves into throughout the film. Harold and Kumar have definitely worn out their welcome with me, and if/when a third installment is released, I’m not even going to bother with it.
Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay picks up a few days after the first film left off. That is to say, Harold (played by John Cho) has finally worked up the courage to ask Maria (Paula Garcés), the cute woman who lives in his apartment building, out on a date. The only problem is that Maria has gone to Amsterdam for a few days. No worries, says buddy Kumar (Kal Penn). The two of them can go to Amsterdam too. After all, it is the legal weed capital of the world, so they’ll be killing two birds with one stone (no pun intended).
Of course, it seems that Harold and Kumar can’t get through the simplest events without incident, and flying to Amsterdam is no exception. Kumar decided it would be a great idea to smuggle a specially made bong onto the plane so he could smoke up mid-flight, but things get out of hand when an old lady sees him in the lavatory with a strange contraption. Since Kumar isn’t white and therefore could be a terrorist, the old lady screams that there’s a bomb on the plane, which brings the air marshalls out of the woodwork and causes the plane to be diverted back to the U.S.
Harold and Kumar are then questioned by Ron Fox (Rob Corddry), an overzealous Homeland Security agent. Fox in his ignorance thinks that Kumar is from the Middle East and somehow associated with Al-Qaeda, and that Harold is working for North Korea, thereby resulting in a new terrorist alliance between two of America’s most dangerous enemies. He sends Harold and Kumar off to Guantanamo Bay for further questioning.
After just a few minutes in a Guantanamo Bay cell, Harold and Kumar manage to escape when a few other real terrorists overpower their captives and make a break for it. They get on a boat headed to Miami, and there hook up with an old friend who owes them a favor. They borrow their friend’s car so they can go to Texas where Kumar’s ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Danneel Harris) and her current flame Colton (Eric Winter) live. Colton has government connections, and can probably help them out.
The rest of the film then deals with Harold and Kumar’s journey to Texas, and includes all the different adventures they get into along the way. They meet up with Neil Patrick Harris (played by Neil Patrick Harris) again, as well as a few other strange characters before eventually making it to their destination and getting everything worked out.
My Reaction: Like I said, I didn’t enjoy Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay nearly as much as the first film. The jokes were even dumber and more juvenile than before, and Neil Patrick Harris’ part was even more over the top — but not in a good way. I’ve never been involved in the stoner scene, so I don’t know how much of Kumar’s characterization is accurate here, but it seems a bit unbelievable that someone would go that far to take a hit. I mean, smuggling a bong onto an airplane that’s headed to Amsterdam? He couldn’t wait 8 hours? Really?
Sure, I know it’s useless to expect the plot to make any sense at all. Unfortunately, the jokes weren’t funny enough and the actors weren’t charismatic enough to distract me from the sheer lunacy of what was happening on screen.
Overall, Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay is not a movie that I’d recommend to anyone over the age of, say, 25 (unless you’re a hardcore stoner beyond that threshold, of course). I certainly didn’t fit the demographic of the intended audience that the filmmakers undoubtedly had in mind, and that will be reflected in my rating of 5.0 stars out of 10.