Jump to content

Early reviews good: Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay


SouthernJet

Recommended Posts

sequel to Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle..

no holds barred, any nationality/religion fair game flick

Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

By JOE LEYDON

rharoldandkumar_bay.jpg

'Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay'

A New Line Cinema release and presentation in association with Mandate Pictures of a Kingsgate Films production. Produced by Greg Shapiro, Nathan Kahane. Executive producers, Joe Drake, Carsten Lorenz, Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener. Co-producers, Nicole Brown, Kelli Konop, Michael Disco, Samuel J. Brown, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg. Directed, written by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, based on characters created by Hurwitz, Schlossberg.

Harold - John Cho

Kumar - Kal Penn

Ron Fox - Rob Corddry

Deputy Frye - Jack Conley

Dr. Beecher - Roger Bart

Neil Patrick Harris - Neil Patrick Harris

Vanessa - Danneel Harris

Colton - Eric Winter

Maria - Paula Garces

Raymus - Jon Reep

Raylene - Missi Pyle

Cyrus - Mark Munoz

George W. Bush - James Adomian

Sally - Beverly D'Angelo

**** Hemingway - Echo Valley

Goldstein - David Krumholtz

Rosenberg - Eddie Kaye Thomas

Radical Muslim terrorists, inbred Deep Southerners, Homeland Security xenophobes and President George W. Bush are among the primary targets bruised and battered by the sledgehammering satire of "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay," an over-the-top and beyond-PC comedy that sometimes deftly, sometimes slapdashedly infuses party-hearty anarchy with hectoring moral outrage. An appreciably more politically charged follow-up to 2004's "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" (a piddling B.O. performer that nonetheless achieved cult-fave status on DVD), this raucous road-trip laffer, set for an April 25 release, should perform exceptionally well with auds primed by its predecessor.

Whether the pic can attract newcomers to the franchise --and score breakthrough success during its theatrical run -- depends on the willingness of the masses to accept a sex-drugs-and-rock-'n'-roll comedy so jeeringly critical of post-9/11 paranoia and so openly contemptuous of authoritarian excesses by U.S. government agencies charged with waging the war on terror.

It's like "Animal House" meets "Dr. Strangelove" -- although, truth be told, it's highly unlikely even Stanley Kubrick would have dared attempt a scene like the one here in which an insanely overzealous Dept. of Homeland Security chief literally wipes his backside with the Bill of Rights.

Not that the entire pic is a slapsticky, scatological remix of a Keith Olbermann tirade. Indeed, long stretches are simply variations of comic riffs from the first "Harold & Kumar" misadventure. Once again, Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn), pot-toking twentysomethings with drastically dissimilar degrees of ambition, set out on a cross-country quest fueled by their taste for Cannabis. Also once again, the buddies manage to subvert stereotypes (even while playing them for laughs) during close encounters with strangers who range from seriously weird to downright dangerous.

And yes, once again, the boys cross paths with Neil Patrick Harris, who takes unseemly delight in playing himself as a drug-consuming sexaholic who exploits his "Doogie Howser" fame at every opportunity.

The big difference this time is that, instead of seeking a beloved burger joint, Harold and Kumar are on the run because, after being mistaken for terrorists while aboard an Amsterdam-bound plane and getting shipped off to Guantanamo Bay, they miraculously escape and flee to Florida. From there, they must somehow make their way to Texas and seek help from Harold's politically well-connected former classmate (Eric Winter) -- who just happens to be preparing his wedding to Kumar's former sweetheart (Danneel Harris).

Ron Fox (Rob Corddry), the aforementioned Homeland Security chief with the personal hygiene problems, leads the massive manhunt for the fugitives he assumes represent a link to a new nexus of Al Qaeda and North Korean terrorists. Corddry plays the wild-eyed zealot as a live-action cartoon who unthinkingly offends Jews, blacks and marginally less rabid colleagues (including an increasingly frustrated Roger Bart) in the name of keeping America safe.

In sharp contrast, President Bush comes off as affably easygoing, primarily because James Adomian plays him as a mild-and-hazy guy, much like ... well, Harold and Kumar. (It will be interesting to see which of these comic constructs incites the most vehement condemnation from right-wing bloggers and commentators.)

Subtlety isn't the strong point of this free-wheeling farrago written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, scripters of the previous "Harold & Kumar" opus. Most of the gags are almost entirely apolitical, and some of the biggest laughs are generated by brazenly gratuitous nudity, s******ing sexual activity and considerable consumption of illicit drugs, almost all of it with amusing consequences.

A similar what-the-hell attitude permeates the entire pic: While the production values are by no means sloppy, there is little sign anyone involved perceived slickness as a goal worth pursuing.

Here and there, however, the madcap zaniness and frat-house boisterousness are laced with something not unlike righteous rage about racial profiling, extraordinary rendition and government-authorized oppression. Auds will be left feeling that if characters as harmless as Harold and Kumar (engagingly replayed by Cho and Penn) can wind up unfairly imprisoned, even in the context of a broad comedy, something is terribly wrong with the system. In its own wacky way, "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay" is one of the ballsiest comedies to come out of Hollywood in a long time. No kidding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

sequel to Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle..

no holds barred, any nationality/religion fair game flick

Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

By JOE LEYDON

rharoldandkumar_bay.jpg

'Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay'

A New Line Cinema release and presentation in association with Mandate Pictures of a Kingsgate Films production. Produced by Greg Shapiro, Nathan Kahane. Executive producers, Joe Drake, Carsten Lorenz, Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener. Co-producers, Nicole Brown, Kelli Konop, Michael Disco, Samuel J. Brown, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg. Directed, written by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, based on characters created by Hurwitz, Schlossberg.

Harold - John Cho

Kumar - Kal Penn

Ron Fox - Rob Corddry

Deputy Frye - Jack Conley

Dr. Beecher - Roger Bart

Neil Patrick Harris - Neil Patrick Harris

Vanessa - Danneel Harris

Colton - Eric Winter

Maria - Paula Garces

Raymus - Jon Reep

Raylene - Missi Pyle

Cyrus - Mark Munoz

George W. Bush - James Adomian

Sally - Beverly D'Angelo

**** Hemingway - Echo Valley

Goldstein - David Krumholtz

Rosenberg - Eddie Kaye Thomas

Radical Muslim terrorists, inbred Deep Southerners, Homeland Security xenophobes and President George W. Bush are among the primary targets bruised and battered by the sledgehammering satire of "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay," an over-the-top and beyond-PC comedy that sometimes deftly, sometimes slapdashedly infuses party-hearty anarchy with hectoring moral outrage. An appreciably more politically charged follow-up to 2004's "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" (a piddling B.O. performer that nonetheless achieved cult-fave status on DVD), this raucous road-trip laffer, set for an April 25 release, should perform exceptionally well with auds primed by its predecessor.

Whether the pic can attract newcomers to the franchise --and score breakthrough success during its theatrical run -- depends on the willingness of the masses to accept a sex-drugs-and-rock-'n'-roll comedy so jeeringly critical of post-9/11 paranoia and so openly contemptuous of authoritarian excesses by U.S. government agencies charged with waging the war on terror.

It's like "Animal House" meets "Dr. Strangelove" -- although, truth be told, it's highly unlikely even Stanley Kubrick would have dared attempt a scene like the one here in which an insanely overzealous Dept. of Homeland Security chief literally wipes his backside with the Bill of Rights.

Not that the entire pic is a slapsticky, scatological remix of a Keith Olbermann tirade. Indeed, long stretches are simply variations of comic riffs from the first "Harold & Kumar" misadventure. Once again, Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn), pot-toking twentysomethings with drastically dissimilar degrees of ambition, set out on a cross-country quest fueled by their taste for Cannabis. Also once again, the buddies manage to subvert stereotypes (even while playing them for laughs) during close encounters with strangers who range from seriously weird to downright dangerous.

And yes, once again, the boys cross paths with Neil Patrick Harris, who takes unseemly delight in playing himself as a drug-consuming sexaholic who exploits his "Doogie Howser" fame at every opportunity.

The big difference this time is that, instead of seeking a beloved burger joint, Harold and Kumar are on the run because, after being mistaken for terrorists while aboard an Amsterdam-bound plane and getting shipped off to Guantanamo Bay, they miraculously escape and flee to Florida. From there, they must somehow make their way to Texas and seek help from Harold's politically well-connected former classmate (Eric Winter) -- who just happens to be preparing his wedding to Kumar's former sweetheart (Danneel Harris).

Ron Fox (Rob Corddry), the aforementioned Homeland Security chief with the personal hygiene problems, leads the massive manhunt for the fugitives he assumes represent a link to a new nexus of Al Qaeda and North Korean terrorists. Corddry plays the wild-eyed zealot as a live-action cartoon who unthinkingly offends Jews, blacks and marginally less rabid colleagues (including an increasingly frustrated Roger Bart) in the name of keeping America safe.

In sharp contrast, President Bush comes off as affably easygoing, primarily because James Adomian plays him as a mild-and-hazy guy, much like ... well, Harold and Kumar. (It will be interesting to see which of these comic constructs incites the most vehement condemnation from right-wing bloggers and commentators.)

Subtlety isn't the strong point of this free-wheeling farrago written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, scripters of the previous "Harold & Kumar" opus. Most of the gags are almost entirely apolitical, and some of the biggest laughs are generated by brazenly gratuitous nudity, s******ing sexual activity and considerable consumption of illicit drugs, almost all of it with amusing consequences.

A similar what-the-hell attitude permeates the entire pic: While the production values are by no means sloppy, there is little sign anyone involved perceived slickness as a goal worth pursuing.

Here and there, however, the madcap zaniness and frat-house boisterousness are laced with something not unlike righteous rage about racial profiling, extraordinary rendition and government-authorized oppression. Auds will be left feeling that if characters as harmless as Harold and Kumar (engagingly replayed by Cho and Penn) can wind up unfairly imprisoned, even in the context of a broad comedy, something is terribly wrong with the system. In its own wacky way, "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay" is one of the ballsiest comedies to come out of Hollywood in a long time. No kidding.

i enjoyed the 1st one

the scene where they are with the wife of "Boil and pussman" was hilarious

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been waiting for Harold & Kumar go to Amsterdam. Guess this is the sequel.

I can't wait to see it.

I saw the trailer, I think they get arrested on the plane going to amsterdam for being terrorists. They think Kumar is al Queda and Harold is North Korean or something very silly but funny like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw the trailer, I think they get arrested on the plane going to amsterdam for being terrorists. They think Kumar is al Queda and Harold is North Korean or something very silly but funny like that.

brilliant! I seen the commercial and Doogie Howser MD is in it! lmao.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

brilliant! I seen the commercial and Doogie Howser MD is in it! lmao.

original title was amsterdam,, but iu was told they didnt end up going there to film so they altered,,so like mentioned, they get nailed on plane ON WAY to Amsterdam.

wrongly accused of being terrorists and it goes from there,,

Neil Patrick Harris, aka Doogie, returns in same role he played in original Harold/Kumar go to White Castle..

It debuted at Austin film festival last week to decent reviews and they said NPHarris carries film this time...

for those who missed original, see before u see Guantanamo...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...
Saw last nite

Very raunchy....Son will not be watching this one

I liked 1st one much better

Doogie was funny though

They pretty much just copy and pasted scenes from the first one. The whole inbred mutant thing, Doogie all f'd up on drugs, the telegraphed homo jokes..etc.

I did find the George Bush stuff pretty funny.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They pretty much just copy and pasted scenes from the first one. The whole inbred mutant thing, Doogie all f'd up on drugs, the telegraphed homo jokes..etc.

I did find the George Bush stuff pretty funny.

some funny scenes no doubt.

Didn't need to be so raunchy IMO

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd have to agree with you guys. The 1st one was funny and somewhat original. This one was practically a carbon copy of the first with more vulgarity substituted with actual jokes, still enjoyed watching it though.

wife stopped watching it after 1st minute!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...