|
Harold And Kumar
Escape From Guantanamo Bay
Reviewed By Rich Drees
Most sequels to successful comedies do nothing more than ape the
original’s structure and jokes, too afraid that audiences won’t
stand for any deviation from what they liked about the first film.
As can be judged from just the title, Harold And Kumar Escape
From Guantanamo Bay brings its titular stoner heroes back for a
new big screen comic misadventure, but manages to inject some
spot-on social satire into the bargain.
Picking up the
following morning after the end of its progenitor, Harold And
Kumar Go To White Castle, the new film finds the pair dealing
with the first film’s fallout, both gastronomical and romantic.
Seeing as Harold (John Cho) can’t wait the ten days that his new
found love Maria (Paula Garces) will be in Amsterdam to see her
again, the pair decided to hop a trans-Atlantic flight to the
Netherlands for a surprise visit.
But in the
current political climate, it is rather hard for a Korean and an
Indian to board an airliner without attracting some paranoid, and a
shade racist, attention. Following a mid-flight misunderstanding
over a bong – Only Kumar (Kal Penn) would be dimwitted enough to try
to smuggle pot INTO Amsterdam – the pair find themselves imprisoned
as terrorists in the Guantanamo Bay facility. True to the title of
the film, they duo don’t stay there long, but manage to make a break
for freedom. They soon find themselves heading through the deep
South to Texas, where Kumar’s ex-girlfriend (Danneel Harris) is
about to marry a guy who can clear their name with the State
Department. And of course, they once again run into out-of-control
actor Neil Patrick Harris.
As a device to get the plot in motion, “Two stoners are mistaken for
terrorists and go on the run” is a much higher concept (pardon the
pun) that the original film’s “stoners go on a munchies run.” While
the first film got much mileage through making fun of racial
stereotypes and the ignorant people who embrace them, this film digs
further by pointing out the racism that has sprung out of the
paranoid state the current administration has attempted to whip the
citizenry into. As Kumar sits quietly on the plane awaiting takeoff,
he smiles politely to a little old lady. But rather than a nice
young man dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, she literally sees a
wild-bearded, turbaned ethnic stereotype laughing maniacally. It
won’t be the only time that he will be mistaken for an Arab. Once
the pair has been arrested and an overeager Homeland Security
Official, played to pompous perfection by Rob Croddry, learns that
Harold is of Korean descent, her immediately jumps to the conclusion
that al Queada and North Korea must be working together. The
ethnicity of the Harold and Kumar is never the punchline to the
joke, it is only part of the setup. Those of a neo-conservative bent
may not laugh, but everyone else will.
The
screenwriting team of Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who take
over directorial duties from White Castle helmer Danny Leiner,
manage to balance the satire with a plethora of other jokes that run
the gamut from slapstick to surreal to scatological. Some frontal
nudity, both male and female, is played for laughs and the foul
language flows freely as well. It must have been an interesting
screening with the folks at the ratings board. Hurwitz and
Schlossberg also supply some solid characterization for their two
leads, fleshing out a bit of their background and exploring their
friendship a bit more. Of course, this just helps to support some of
the humor later on. It is not often that one gets to see two
characters have personal epiphanies while surrounded by the
understanding and supportive staff of a Texas bordello, but we do
here. Here’s hoping we go on another road trip with Harold and Kumar
real soon. |
