2008 Woodie Awards
'Harold And Kumar' Sequel Provides Laughs With Same Formula As First
Movie Review
Natalie Abreu
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Focus
The last time audiences saw Harold and Kumar (John Cho and Kal Penn respectively), their unbelievable one night journey consisted of everything from cheetah riding to para-gliding to Neil Patrick Harris in a seedy self-portrayal. All of these events took place with one simple goal in mind: go to White Castle and enjoy some great tasting burgers. This time around, the boys are going to Amsterdam - or at least they are supposed to. After a hilarious scene where Kumar smuggles a bong onto the plane to join a different kind of mile-"high" club, Harold and Kumar are detained and sent to Guantanamo Bay. There, they begin a journey of trying to escape the authorities and get their names cleared.
While still as raunchy, foul-mouthed and pot-filled as ever, "Guantanamo Bay," also reinforces and challenges the typical stereotypes we might have of certain people. A great example of this is in an eager Homeland Security official (played by "The Daily Show's" Rob Corddry) who will stop at nothing to get Harold and Kumar back to Guantanamo. Some of the funniest scenes of the film are of him stereotyping other people, showing the ridiculous nature of racism and stereotyping in a comedic light.
Also new in this film is a romantic subplot which involves Kumar and his college sweetheart Vanessa (Danneel Harris) who is marrying a politician in training named Colton who looks as if he jumped off the page of an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog (Eric Winter). This subplot adds a little bit of a chick-flick element to the film, as if trying to echo the Judd Apatow formula of a gross-out comedy with heart. But it proves to be a little too sentimental for its own good. The subplot does provide a few laughs when Kumar flashes back to when he first met Vanessa, a punk princess, in college as an uptight nerdy student, and Harold as an eyeliner-wearing goth. Penn does show great acting range in the moments where he realizes he still in love with Vanessa though, proving how talented both actors are.
One thing that definitely remained close to the original film is the inclusion of Neil Patrick Harris. Still as crazed, horny and drug-fueled as ever, Harris has traded in his coke-snorting ways for eating mushrooms, which make him see the most unusual hallucinations. He provides the most laughs of the film, and you never know what he's going to say or do next.
Although hilarious in every moment, this does not live up to the original. Instead of satire about terrorism paranoia in a post Sept. 11 world, this comedy seems to be just a mushy mess of jokes, romantic entanglements, and of course, Harris' crazed antics.
Contact Natalie Abreu at
Natalie.Abreu@UConn.edu.
While still as raunchy, foul-mouthed and pot-filled as ever, "Guantanamo Bay," also reinforces and challenges the typical stereotypes we might have of certain people. A great example of this is in an eager Homeland Security official (played by "The Daily Show's" Rob Corddry) who will stop at nothing to get Harold and Kumar back to Guantanamo. Some of the funniest scenes of the film are of him stereotyping other people, showing the ridiculous nature of racism and stereotyping in a comedic light.
Also new in this film is a romantic subplot which involves Kumar and his college sweetheart Vanessa (Danneel Harris) who is marrying a politician in training named Colton who looks as if he jumped off the page of an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog (Eric Winter). This subplot adds a little bit of a chick-flick element to the film, as if trying to echo the Judd Apatow formula of a gross-out comedy with heart. But it proves to be a little too sentimental for its own good. The subplot does provide a few laughs when Kumar flashes back to when he first met Vanessa, a punk princess, in college as an uptight nerdy student, and Harold as an eyeliner-wearing goth. Penn does show great acting range in the moments where he realizes he still in love with Vanessa though, proving how talented both actors are.
One thing that definitely remained close to the original film is the inclusion of Neil Patrick Harris. Still as crazed, horny and drug-fueled as ever, Harris has traded in his coke-snorting ways for eating mushrooms, which make him see the most unusual hallucinations. He provides the most laughs of the film, and you never know what he's going to say or do next.
Although hilarious in every moment, this does not live up to the original. Instead of satire about terrorism paranoia in a post Sept. 11 world, this comedy seems to be just a mushy mess of jokes, romantic entanglements, and of course, Harris' crazed antics.
Contact Natalie Abreu at
Natalie.Abreu@UConn.edu.
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