Opening Day: 24 April 2008

Synopsis:

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay marks the triumphant return of these two hilarious, slacker anti-heroes. The movie stars John Cho (Star Trek, American Pie) as Harold and Kal Penn (The Namesake, House, Van Wilder) as Kumar, two stoners who can’t seem to get a break. Their last adventure found them traveling across country to find a White Castle hamburger in order to satisfy a weed-induced case of “the munchies”. This time, the boys get themselves in trouble trying to sneak a bong onboard a flight to Amsterdam. Now, being suspected of terrorism, they are forced to run from the law and try to find a way to prove their innocence. What follows an irreverent and epic journey of deep thoughts, deeper inhaling and a wild trip around the world that is as “un-PC” as it gets.

Movie Review:

The first one made me wants to smoke weed and munch on triangle burgers at White Castle. Although both are fairly out of reach in Singapore, it’s a testament how infectious the original movie was. Harold and Kumar Escapes from Guantanamo Bay similarly had the same hypnotic vibe that makes one want to smoke weeds too but somehow it wasn’t just as siok (enjoyable) as the first time round.

It could be that they carried the racist jokes once too often till a point that it wasn’t funny anymore. It was riotous in the trailer when Harold and Kumar had been identified as terrorist from the North Korean and Al Qaeda by Ron Fox (Rob Corddry) but when it was shown in the movie, that joke had already grown stale. It went on to poke fun of the other races such as the Jews and the African American with stereotypical jokes that were weary and perhaps a slightly more difficult to catch for Singaporean as we are not accustom to some of the underlying meanings.

The other culprit for this film’s lackluster performance would be the bonehead government agent, Ron Fox who is after these two lovable jesters. It’s obvious that his character was suppose to be offending and obnoxious but while some other actors are able to make their obnoxious characters memorable and amusing, Rob Corddry’s rendition veered to plain irritating and unlikable after a while. Scenes with him felt like road bumps from enjoying this film.

However, what’s likeable is still the undeniably chemistry between Harold and Kumar. Even though the sequel felt like a let down from the first one, I would still pay to watch the third installment (if it ever happens) just purely for their bantering and bonding sessions through the constant influx of ridiculously humorous events that happens to them.

Another plus point for this installment would the revelation of another facade of Kumar that most of us would not expect from this weed addicted bummer. Who would expect the irresponsible troublemaker was once a ….. and has a one true …. that he couldn’t forget ? nah don’t worry, I won’t spoil it here for you. You got to discover that amazing revelation by getting ticket to this show.

Bottom line, fans of the original would likely flock to watch this sequel no matter how this review or others pan out. It’s just a matter of liking it or loving it. For folks who are new to this franchise, if you enjoy movies such as Wayne’s World, Dude Where’s my Car! and Road Trip and got a threshold for crude and gross jokes, Harold and Kumar escapes from Guantanamo Bay will likely make you a fan (and head straight for that video store for Harold and Kumar Goes to White Castle).

Movie Rating:

(Built on the same blueprint as the first one but escaping is definitely not as fresh or funny as going to)

Review by Richard Lim Jr