By now, we all know what to expect from a Harold and Kumar movie. Numerous jokes referencing drugs, alcohol, sex, raunchy material and Neil Patrick Harris. High brow humor is nowhere to be found here. Only filthy potty mouths and graphic nudity. Nothing more, nothing less.
This isn’t a negative, but a positive. Low brow humor such as this is necessary, just as much as the high brow, if not more so. I myself am a lover of the raunchy humor, which helped make the first two films in this series such pleasures. I may not drink or do drugs, but I do find films centered around them to be hysterical. “A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas” is another funny entry into that genre.
Granted, this one’s a bit more hit and miss than the last two. That’s not to say there aren’t laughs. There are a ton, quite a few in which hit big. The series is just starting to show it’s age, with wrinkles clouting some of it. It’s still young and naughty at heart.
Six years have passed since Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) escaped from Guantanamo Bay. Harold is now happily married to Maria (Paula Garces), while Kumar got kicked out of med school and is going through a rough patch with Vanessa. The two have drifted apart over the years, finding new best friends in squeaky clean Tod (Tom Lennon) for Harold and young stoner Adrian (Amir Blumenfeld) for Kumar.
The two are brought back together after a package was delivered for Harold at his old apartment. Kumar makes the trek to his new luxurious house, where the two awkwardly catch up. Harold has quit smoking weed and focused his attention on Wall Street (where he’s currently hassled by protestors), as to where Kumar smokes daily and avoids working.
After opening the box, they discover a huge joint. With no return address or message, Harold believes this was a set up by Kumar. Tired of dealing with the messes he makes, he kicks him out. Kumar leaves, but not before accidentally setting the Christmas tree on fire.
For Harold, this is a serious issue. His father-in-law, Mr. Perez (Danny Trejo), takes Christmas seriously. The Christmas tree that just got set ablaze spent eight years to be grown. The reason Mr. Perez takes the holidays so seriously is because he was poor and never had much when he was a kid. All he wanted was a gigantic tree. The year his mother finally got one, she was murdered by Korean assassins.
Despite his disdain, Harold must team up with Kumar to replace the tree and save Christmas. As per usual, their adventure quickly turns chaotic. They get drugged, have a run in with a mafia boss, get an infant high, get attacked by a Claymation killer snowman (in an a very funny parody of the animation style), nearly lose their privates and shoot Santa Claus in the face. He’s real and they shot him in the face.
Oh, and they run into Neil Patrick Harris, of course. As per usual, he steals the show, playing a parody of himself. To keep in line with his man whore persona in the last two films and him actually being gay, they make the joke he’s pretending for publicity. Even his real life husband, David Burtka, gets in on the fun, playing a parody of himself. He too is straight, but helps NPH out, as well as supplying him with drugs.
For those that didn’t stay after the credits in the last film, Neil Patrick Harris was not killed, only suffering minor wounds. When Harold and Kumar question this, he tells the story of how he went to Heaven. After stealing two of Jesus’ ladies, he gets him kicked out and sends him back to Earth. It’s short, just like NPH’s appearance in this film, but it’s extremely satisfying.
The jokes that miss involve the mafia mob boss, Sergei Katzov (Elias Koteas), mainly because there are none written for him. His henchmen get a funny sequence, but he’s left out in the cold. Which is a shame, as Elias Koteas is fits the role well and fares well in comedies. His character does move the plot along, so he’s not entirely useless.
Tom and his baby provide laughs in the beginning, but outwear their welcome quickly. The baby on drugs was funny at first, but goes a bit too over the top and out there. It was funnier when the child simply couldn’t stop giggling and had the munchies. Making her climb walls lost the appeal.
One running gag that shouldn’t have been funny (at least consistently), but ended up providing some of the best laughs is in Wafflebot. A new Christmas toy on the market, Wafflebot cooks waffles without having your children burned or electrocuted (trust me, the commercial is hilarious). Kumar desperately wants one and eventually receives one from Neil Patrick Harris. The little robot’s affection for Kumar, as well as disdain for pancakes and many accessories, is priceless!
As for the 3D effects, they’re done well. Not being a fan of the extra dimension, I found it to be well done here, though not perfect. It helps they’re basically lampooning 3D, making all of the special effects goofy and acknowledging that it jumped the shark.
If you enjoyed the first two “Harold and Kumar” films, you’ll love this one! It’s got nudity, drugs, alcohol, foul language, Neil Patrick Harris, inside jokes and an appearance from a few familiar faces. It may not be as consistently funny as the first two, but it’s just as raunchy and still delivers the goods. It makes for a good stocking stuffer this holiday season.
Final Rating: B