The first two Harold & Kumar films are ridiculous to stay the least. The first film the better of the two. For an out there stoner fantasy comedy, it has some pretty hilarious moments and gross jokes that hit the mark. Plus John Cho and Kal Penn have great chemistry. You can totally believe they are friends even though they are from different classes. It didn't hurt that Neil Patrick Harris has one of the best cameos of all time. (Even in the sequel his cameo up the film in a positive way)
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is all that someone would expect from the third film in the series and being a Christmas special. The yule tidings, jingling, sleigh bells, Santa and of course NPH (as I will now call him for the rest of the review). Did I forget to mention that there is crazy action, a lot of gross jokes, boobies, male nudity and a whole ton of drug use? This is a Harold and Kumar sequel as you know. The plot if you can call it one is pretty simple, Harold and Kumar reunite under somewhat odd and unwanted circumstances to find a Christmas tree before two am Christmas morning.
The film starts off a bit slower than a normal Harold & Kumar film. But the filmmakers do very much utilize the 3D early and often. A scene with a protest, eggs, and comedian Bobby Lee will let you know, yes this is a 3D movie. I can tell you the film gets wilder from there. Some of the jokes do land decently. There is a running gag with a toddler doing drugs that culminate in hilarious results. Harold & Kumar get into their normal hijinks with sometimes lethal results. I would say it's a bit wilder than the first and on par with the sequel.
I did get a kick out of the claymation sequences in the middle of the film. It's a nice ode to the classic Christmas special with the song in the sequence side-splitting funny. But many of the jokes are cringe-inducing not resulting in many laughs. You can see exactly where the plot is going at all times. Penn & Cho start off like they are going through the motion of a sequel but when the zaniness cracks up they do give it their all. Amir Blumenfeld and Thomas Lennon play two new friends of the main duo who get really caught up in all the craziness.
NPH is back again and he's good as only NPH can be. But it felt like he was phoning it during part of his cameo. (And yes they do explain how he comes back if you've seen the 2nd film) But it did like the connection to his real life. I won't spoil but NPH fan will really enjoy that. (I could have done without the gay jokes but I had to remember what film I was watching). For a comedy, this shot more like a film than a normal comedy. It felt like it had that feel like Game Night where it was a comedy but the look felt like a film in a different genre.
David Krumholtz and Eddie Kaye Thomas show up for one scene to connect all the films outside of the main characters. Danny Trejo does have a small role as Harold's father in law. It's, unfortunately, nothing to write home about. He could have been better used in a crazy comedy fantasy such as this. I would have loved to have seen him let loose his comedy chops and badass appeal. Yes for those folks asking Santa does have a role in the film. It acts a more of a plot device than anything else.
The film does have a few moments and a few gags that shine through a lot of the muck. It wouldn't place it high on my holiday watch list but it was entertaining viewing. I would like to see the duo with NPH get a more fitting send-off. Nowhere near as laugh out loud funny as the first but much in line with Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, this Christmas edition of the Harold & Kumar series is one of those very late nights watches when you can't sleep and having issues "getting" things out of your system.
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is all that someone would expect from the third film in the series and being a Christmas special. The yule tidings, jingling, sleigh bells, Santa and of course NPH (as I will now call him for the rest of the review). Did I forget to mention that there is crazy action, a lot of gross jokes, boobies, male nudity and a whole ton of drug use? This is a Harold and Kumar sequel as you know. The plot if you can call it one is pretty simple, Harold and Kumar reunite under somewhat odd and unwanted circumstances to find a Christmas tree before two am Christmas morning.
The film starts off a bit slower than a normal Harold & Kumar film. But the filmmakers do very much utilize the 3D early and often. A scene with a protest, eggs, and comedian Bobby Lee will let you know, yes this is a 3D movie. I can tell you the film gets wilder from there. Some of the jokes do land decently. There is a running gag with a toddler doing drugs that culminate in hilarious results. Harold & Kumar get into their normal hijinks with sometimes lethal results. I would say it's a bit wilder than the first and on par with the sequel.
I did get a kick out of the claymation sequences in the middle of the film. It's a nice ode to the classic Christmas special with the song in the sequence side-splitting funny. But many of the jokes are cringe-inducing not resulting in many laughs. You can see exactly where the plot is going at all times. Penn & Cho start off like they are going through the motion of a sequel but when the zaniness cracks up they do give it their all. Amir Blumenfeld and Thomas Lennon play two new friends of the main duo who get really caught up in all the craziness.
NPH is back again and he's good as only NPH can be. But it felt like he was phoning it during part of his cameo. (And yes they do explain how he comes back if you've seen the 2nd film) But it did like the connection to his real life. I won't spoil but NPH fan will really enjoy that. (I could have done without the gay jokes but I had to remember what film I was watching). For a comedy, this shot more like a film than a normal comedy. It felt like it had that feel like Game Night where it was a comedy but the look felt like a film in a different genre.
David Krumholtz and Eddie Kaye Thomas show up for one scene to connect all the films outside of the main characters. Danny Trejo does have a small role as Harold's father in law. It's, unfortunately, nothing to write home about. He could have been better used in a crazy comedy fantasy such as this. I would have loved to have seen him let loose his comedy chops and badass appeal. Yes for those folks asking Santa does have a role in the film. It acts a more of a plot device than anything else.
The film does have a few moments and a few gags that shine through a lot of the muck. It wouldn't place it high on my holiday watch list but it was entertaining viewing. I would like to see the duo with NPH get a more fitting send-off. Nowhere near as laugh out loud funny as the first but much in line with Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, this Christmas edition of the Harold & Kumar series is one of those very late nights watches when you can't sleep and having issues "getting" things out of your system.