Harold and Kumar doing a Christmas film, in 3D. How the hell are they gonna pull that off? It's the two modern stoners, doing a Christmas film, in 3D. I'm still baffled that they made this. Going into this, I was extremely worried that they could screw this up, and make a terrible film. However, the premise was silly enough for this film to work.
This film is set in the modern day, 7 years after the Guantanamo Bay incident. Harold and Kumar aren't friends anymore. Harold (John Cho) is a successful businessman, married to Maria (Paula Garces), and given up weed. Kumar (Kal Penn) is still slacking, out of a job, broken up from Vanessa (Danneel Harris), and is still smoking, more than ever. An odd package is dropped off at Kumar's place, with Harold's name on it, so Kumar decides to deliver it to Harold.
Let's start with the cast. John Cho and Kal Penn are just as good as they always were, and there really isn't that much to say there. I was actually quite disappointed with Neil Patrick Harris (who will be refered to as NPH from now on). Compared to the last two films, in which he was a sex god, here, he's now a gay man, as he is in real life, but only pretending to be, in order to get more women. Due to this, he isn't really getting women at all. It's a very odd way to portray him, and while I'm glad to see him again, it's a shame to see him not at his top performance. This is mostly the fault of the writing however, so if there is a fourth one, write him better. I'd also like to mention Amir Blumenfeld, of Collegehumor. Collegehumor produces my favourite web series, Jake and Amir, of which he is a writer and actor. It's a good thing to see him in this film, furthering his career into film, especially one like this. It's also good to see that he didn't act anything like Amir from Jake and Amir, but instead, he acted like a completely different character. It's good to see he can act other roles, something I was worried about going into this film.
The choice of 3D in this film is one of the few times I'll let 3D slide, simply because they use 3D to parody it. It's used entirely for parody. Just watch the trailer, and you'll see what I mean. While I don't advocate the usage of 3D in films, unless it actually works quite well, like Avatar or animated films, for parody, I'm willing to let that slide. Mostly because I believe if we're parodying it now, that means that maybe it'll die off soon.
I only have 2 problems with this film. The first is NPH, and the way he was used. The second is the comedy. While this is a good film, and it does tell a good story, as well as having a good Christmas feel to it, it's not as laugh-out-loud funny as the others. There aren't many moments that make you burst out into laughter for prolonged periods of time, unlike the first two. There are several funny moments, but nothing terribly funny. The funniest scene I'd have to say would be the claymation one, which is quite hilarious.
All in all, it's a decent follow-up to one of the defining comedy series of the last decade. If you've seen the first two, I'd recommend you see this. If you're in the mood for a stoner Christmas film (I don't know why you would be, but oh well), this is probably the only stoner Christmas film ever made, so enjoy. While not as good as the last two, it's still a good follow-up, and I would be fine with another film in this series. Overall, a 7/10.
This film is set in the modern day, 7 years after the Guantanamo Bay incident. Harold and Kumar aren't friends anymore. Harold (John Cho) is a successful businessman, married to Maria (Paula Garces), and given up weed. Kumar (Kal Penn) is still slacking, out of a job, broken up from Vanessa (Danneel Harris), and is still smoking, more than ever. An odd package is dropped off at Kumar's place, with Harold's name on it, so Kumar decides to deliver it to Harold.
Let's start with the cast. John Cho and Kal Penn are just as good as they always were, and there really isn't that much to say there. I was actually quite disappointed with Neil Patrick Harris (who will be refered to as NPH from now on). Compared to the last two films, in which he was a sex god, here, he's now a gay man, as he is in real life, but only pretending to be, in order to get more women. Due to this, he isn't really getting women at all. It's a very odd way to portray him, and while I'm glad to see him again, it's a shame to see him not at his top performance. This is mostly the fault of the writing however, so if there is a fourth one, write him better. I'd also like to mention Amir Blumenfeld, of Collegehumor. Collegehumor produces my favourite web series, Jake and Amir, of which he is a writer and actor. It's a good thing to see him in this film, furthering his career into film, especially one like this. It's also good to see that he didn't act anything like Amir from Jake and Amir, but instead, he acted like a completely different character. It's good to see he can act other roles, something I was worried about going into this film.
The choice of 3D in this film is one of the few times I'll let 3D slide, simply because they use 3D to parody it. It's used entirely for parody. Just watch the trailer, and you'll see what I mean. While I don't advocate the usage of 3D in films, unless it actually works quite well, like Avatar or animated films, for parody, I'm willing to let that slide. Mostly because I believe if we're parodying it now, that means that maybe it'll die off soon.
I only have 2 problems with this film. The first is NPH, and the way he was used. The second is the comedy. While this is a good film, and it does tell a good story, as well as having a good Christmas feel to it, it's not as laugh-out-loud funny as the others. There aren't many moments that make you burst out into laughter for prolonged periods of time, unlike the first two. There are several funny moments, but nothing terribly funny. The funniest scene I'd have to say would be the claymation one, which is quite hilarious.
All in all, it's a decent follow-up to one of the defining comedy series of the last decade. If you've seen the first two, I'd recommend you see this. If you're in the mood for a stoner Christmas film (I don't know why you would be, but oh well), this is probably the only stoner Christmas film ever made, so enjoy. While not as good as the last two, it's still a good follow-up, and I would be fine with another film in this series. Overall, a 7/10.
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