Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. 

“Did you see that unicorn?!  Its horn was so shiny...”  3.0 out of 5.0

As a New Jersey native, when I first saw the trailer for Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (which is a sequel to the 2004 sleeper hit Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle), I realized I was automatically (and inevitably) obligated to see the film as soon as possible.  Honestly, this was not a commitment which I dreaded; I enjoyed the first movie, and was glad to see what became of the beloved Asian stoner buddies, portrayed in both films by Kal Penn (as Kumar, his only other notable roles being in the National Lampoon’s Van Wilder films as the character Taj) and John Cho (as Harold, who has a slightly more impressive yet scattered resume, including a bit part in 1999’s American Beauty and that year’s other “American” film, American Pie, as the creator of the acronym MILF; for those who do not know what that means, I’m not about to explain here).  The first film was a highly original and hysterically funny piece of stoner comedy; Penn’s laid-back delivery coupled with Cho’s anxious, by-the-book personality was comedy gold, and ensured that the film was bound to become a cult classic in years to come.

        Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay picks up almost immediately after the events of the first film (I’m talking between two or three hours after the final frame of the predecessor).  The eponymous duo plan to take a plane to Amsterdam to meet up with Harold’s love interest, the beautiful Maria (Paula Garces), who left for Denmark at the end of the previous film.  After the two stoners barely manage to board the plane after an incident in customs, Kumar sneaks off into the airplane’s bathroom about an hour into the flight to take a hit from his latest invention, the electrical smokeless bong.  When a senile female passenger on the plane looks back and looks through the bathroom door (which Kumar has idiotically left open), Kumar’s bong is confused for an explosive device (leading to a “Who’s On First?” routine with the words “bong” and “bomb”), and Harold and Kumar are mistaken for terrorists.  This leads to the two being taken back to the states for interrogation, and are subsequently detained to Guantanamo Bay.  However, the dopers don’t exactly fancy the, ahem, meals in the Cuban base and decide to escape in order to sort out this misunderstanding with the help of Kumar’s ex-girlfriend’s new fiancé (who happens to be good friends with President George W. Bush).  Stoner antics ensue.

        While Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay has its funny moments (particularly Neil Patrick Harris, reprising his role as “Neil Patrick Harris” from the first film, a highly fictionalized version of himself who fancies hallucinogens and cheap prostitutes), most of the humor in the film seems to be familiar, somewhat contrived, somewhat, oh, what’s the word, unoriginal?  Mainly because most of the jokes the film employs are almost directly lifted from the first film; sequences involving a mismatched redneck couple in Alabama and racist members of law enforcement mirror similar plot details in the original almost directly, and the only bit of originality the film throws in with these jokes is fairly poor and unlikely character development.  While the original film did have character development, it worked because it only changed the characters in very general albeit profound ways; here, the characters instead develop in specific while still profound ways; this quickly becomes clunky and unwelcome, such as Kumar’s rapid change from stoner maniac to a serious, committed and responsible, um, nerd.  It’s highly unlike the characters, and when their personality changes do seem realistic, they are merely copied-and-pasted straight from the previous film.  Still, this isn’t to say the film doesn’t have its funny moments; one throwback to the original involving a sex fantasy is much more explicit, and, oddly enough, almost equally funny, and, as I stated before, Neil Patrick Harris shows up in a cameo performance, once again tripping wildly, this time on mushrooms, and provides some of the film’s best laughs; Harris’s comic appearances in both films are likely to become staples of stoner pop culture.

        Overall, Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay has the humor of the series, but not the originality.  It might seem unfair to expect that a series such as Harold and Kumar provide us with sharp, goofy, gut-busting humor while avoiding clichés it itself once established, but it’s not so unfair as to expect some more innovative humor than chronologically mixing up jokes and throwing in juxtaposed plots (the subplot involving a relentless federal agent played by Rob Corddry of The Daily Show proves to be only occasionally funny and mostly distracting and annoying, not deserving of its own stand-alone scenes).  It’s hard to recommend the film to any particular audience; diehard fans will recognize the jokes, and newcomers will be lost in terms of how certain elements of the film are supposed to be funny.  All in all, it’s fair enough to advise catching the film on perhaps cable, or, if you’re willing, a video rental.  However, beware; while it’s important to take the film in the context of the original, don’t watch the original in the context of the new film.  Otherwise, it quickly becomes messy, almost like repeating a joke too many times.  Still, it’s almost worth sitting through stale jokes to see Neil Patrick “Doogie Howser” Harris cattle-brand his initials on a prostitute.  Rated R.