Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay was released on April 25th opening at number 2 at the box office. John Cho and Kal Penn are back again as Harold and Kumar.
Their pot smoking friendship continues on its roller coaster ride as they get themselves into more trouble. This hour and 45 minute epic is hilarious with new ideas or more crazy antics.
The movie opens with Harold and Kumar preparing to go to Amsterdam. Kumar's main objective is to get all the free pot he can get while Harold goes after the love of his life. Before they could ever get there Kumar manages to screw things up by bringing a bong on the plane which is mistaken for a bomb. The two get mistaken for terrorists and thrown into the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
This sequel follows the same pattern as the original. They have a place they want to get to, they get distracted, get in trouble, meet some strange people along the way, and then manage to find themselves succeeding to get where they wanted to go to begin with making their friendship that much stronger. As I think back on some of the scenes I can't help but laugh. Many of the jokes are unexpected and sometimes shockingly funny.
For those that saw the original there was a scene where Kumar married a bag of marijuana which ultimately led to him making love to it. They brought back the bag of marijuana making love to Kumar again but in a bigger and funnier way. It remains one of my favorite scenes.
I simply love the Harold and Kumar antics and silly situations they manage to get themselves into. Cho and Penn portray these characters with expertise and you can't help but love them. The only problem with the sequel is the amount of nudity. Women are not only topless but bottomless which ruined some of the jokes. These scenes could have led to funnier moments if they left some of the nudity out. The expressions on Kumar's face make the scenes hilarious without the need to see a naked woman.
The original Harold and Kumar didn't fair too well at the box-office, however the response from the dvd rentals made this film extremely popular especially among college students. They had hoped for a better turn out for the sequel and they got it. Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is currently the number one movie right now despite its opening weekend at number 2, increasing the chances of another sequel. I highly recommend Harold and Kumar as long as you are willing to deal with plenty of nudity.
