I know, I’m normally not one to jump on the band-wagon of the crude humor comedy, but there is something ridiculously good-natured about the Harold and Kumar movies that I just can’t deny. They’re silly, stoner comedies that poke fun at pretty much everything. They even make fun of the 3D filming process they shot this film in. That seems either counter-productive or hypocritical, but they don’t really care, and neither do I.
It’s six years after the last harold and Kumar adventure, and harold is married, has a good job, a nice house, and is expecting his in-law family for the holidays. His father in-law brought a Christmas tree that he grew himself – a prize tree. While the family is out at church, Kumar stops by and accidently the tree is burned down. This next adventure is the search for a perfect replacement tree before the family gets home.
Sure it’s a fairly preposterous set-up, be then, these movies are fairly preposterous anyway, so in this context its’ pretty acceptable. The usual shenanigans are present, various moments of drug use, off-color jokes about race or religion, and one or two moments of make genital nudity, faux as it may be. but we get added drama of Harold and Kumar not speaking to one another because Harold is acting like a grown-up and Kumar can’t seem to accept that. But Kumar is faced with an adult situation and has to make a choice. Ah, the troubled bromance. Will they finally see that one friend can’t live without the other? Can there be a middle ground for each of them? Light one up and find out!
We see many familiar faces in this from the previous films, such as David Krumholtz and Eddie Kaye Thomas, and some new ones, such a Patton Oswalt in a brief scene as a mall Santa. Elias Koteas is here, Danny Trejo as Harold’s father in law, and Bobby Lee are all great. Including the Wafflebot! Oh, yes, the Wafflebot. The best toy ever. And of course, it’s not a Harold and Kumar movie without the ever so talented Neil Patrick Harris, or NPH, as he is now oft referred. NPH does it all in this, sings, dances, pokes fun at his own gayness, and makes us laugh. He kinda is the reason you watch these movies, just to see what he’ll do.
There’s really a little more in this third Harold and Kumar movie that breaches the realm of reality, but who cares, it’s all dopey fun, and when your target audience is the stoners, do you really concern yourself with following the guidelines of reality? I think not. Just ask Wafflebot. And these are the same writers here as for the first two, so at least there’s some consistentcy in the material. You’ll have to decide whether that’s a positive thing. But they do manage to add some holiday fun by shooting a segment in claymation style a-la Rankin/Bass, though they’re probably rolling over in their graves based on what happens in that sequence.
A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas isn’t for everyone, but it’s goofy and funny if you let yourself enjoy it. And the 3D is actually fun here, and that’s saying something seeing as how we feel about 3D now. I’m sick of it, but at least they use it to their advantage and then go ahead and make fun of it, too.
Yep, A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas is the kind of ridiculous, stoner humor you expect it to be, and if you’re ok with that, you’ll have a good time. I did. It even has a warm and fuzzy holiday ending. But some of that might have to do with the weed. A solid three and a half kittenhands. More if you smoke beforehand, and I figure most people will.
~ Neil T. Weakley, your average movie-goer, unable to resist the simple shenanigans of Harold and Kumar, and NPH!
