Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (Dvd) - Ashleigh

Who knows why the first Harold and Kumar movie was decent? Was the concept of a movie about two guys going to White Castle just that great? Was Neil Patrick Harris’ cameo/comeback that unexpected? Was it the cheetah ride? I don’t know. But I do know Harold and Kumar’s second adventure fails in just as many ways as their first escapade succeeds.

The film begins just as the first film ends. Harold is about to follow his crush to Amsterdam so that he can profess his love for her, and score some legal weed while there. The pair pack and get to the airport. While on the plane Kumar lights up a unique bong, which is confused for a bomb and they turn the plane around. Robert Corddry plays a hot headed idiot who works for the government in some capacity and thinks Harold and Kumar are out to get the U. S. of A. Corddry then sends them to Gitmo as terror suspects. In an entirely idiotic and repugnant scene the two see a pair of detainees eat a “cockmeat sandwich” (b.j.) while doing so the detainees bite the guards penis off and run for the exit. Harold and Kumar see their escape and make for the United States. There story then zigzags in and out of ridiculous situation after ridiculous situation. In this montage they run into NPH again, an incestuous couple, and Christopher Meloni. Nothing new, really. They get out of the trouble they are in when they smoke a marijuana cigarette with George Bush and he decides they are “cool”. And they all live happily ever after.

I think one of the reasons the first film worked was its scope was unusually small. The saga took place in one night that just had a lot of crazy things going on while in route to a local White Castle. The sequel, on the other hand, was a cross country affair ending in Texas that took the better part of a week. The scale just seemed idiotically big. Also, some of the racial humor was sophomoric to the point that it lost any laughs. This was the case in a scene where Ed Helms interpreted for Robert Corddry between Harold’s parents, who spoke perfectly good English, and Corddy. As they shouted at the idiot in English Helms’ character claimed they were speaking gibberish. My last complaint was just the sheer volume of previously used material. There was even a sex scene with a giant bag of mary jane! Are their no new ideas?

3 out 10 – So reminiscent of the first film that it begs the question – “Why make a sequel?”