Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) (Blu-ray Review)
DIRECTED BY: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
STARRING: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris
RATED: UR/REGION A/1:85/1080P/NUMBER OF DISCS 1
AVAILABLE FROM Warner Brothers
Strap in, because Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is a film that asks the age-old question: “What if two stoners were accidentally labeled as terrorists, thrown into one of the most infamous prisons on Earth, and still managed to squeeze in some weed jokes, naked skydiving, and a unicorn named Neil Patrick Harris?
A Heartwarming Tale of Friendship, Patriotism, and Explosive Diarrhea in the Name of Freedom
The year was 2008. America was deeply entrenched in the War on Terror, airport security was tighter than your grandma’s Tupperware lid, and stoner comedies were going through their golden age. Enter: Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, the sequel to Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, and arguably the most politically-charged film ever made that includes a scene where someone gets high with President George W. Bush in his Texas bunker.
Because why not.
Our heroes, Harold Lee (John Cho, the thinking man’s stoner) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn, who somehow went from smoking weed on camera to working in the White House), are headed to Amsterdam so Harold can confess his love to Maria, the girl next door.
Within the first 10 minutes, Kumar smuggles a homemade bong onto the plane — because nothing says “TSA-friendly” like a plastic tube that looks like a terrorist’s arts & crafts project. Naturally, a racist old white lady thinks Kumar is a terrorist (because brown skin + something vaguely pipe-shaped = obviously Al-Qaeda, circa 2008 logic), and the boys are immediately tackled, arrested, and shipped to Guantanamo Bay.
Yes, that Guantanamo Bay.
If you thought the first movie was insane because they hallucinated a talking bag of weed and rode a cheetah, buckle up: this sequel cranks everything to 11, sets it on fire, and then has it crash through a border wall.
The prison scenes are short but unforgettable — especially the part where the warden offers Harold and Kumar a “cockmeat sandwich.” If that sentence disturbed you, congratulations: you now understand the tone of this film.
Luckily, the guys escape Gitmo almost immediately (by seducing a guard with the promise of… well, you know), and begin a chaotic, continent-crossing odyssey to clear their names, prove their innocence, and get to Texas before Harold’s dream girl marries some generic dude with perfect teeth.
Along the way, they:
Reunite with their friends from the first film, including the perpetually disrespected Goldstein and Rosenberg.
Accidentally crash a KKK rally, then steal the Grand Wizard’s truck.
Get high at a bottomless party with two surprisingly intellectual women.
Get shot down by Homeland Security.
And most importantly, team up once again with Neil Patrick Harris, who may or may not be God.
It’s Dumb and Dumber meets Zero Dark Thirty, if both were written by Seth Rogen during a three-day Hot Pocket bender.
A beautiful, chaotic mess.
Would recommend. Preferably while high.
Extras
- Dude, Change the Movie interactive feature that allows the viewer to select new and alternate scenes to change the course of the film
- Commentary with the directors and stars
- The World of Harold and Kumar featurette
- Twenty-seven additional scenes
