After a quest for White Castle burgers and a trip to Guantanamo Bay, the comedy duo of Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) return for a third go around to celebrate (or ruin) the holiest of holidays: Christmas. This isn’t as strong of a film as the first ‘Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle’ nor is it as smart, but it certainly is entertaining through its chaos as the events encountered become even more offensive (in a good way) than the one before.
The basic premise of ‘A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas’ is simple: more drugs and more 3D gags. If the very thought of that offends you, perhaps Harold & Kumar aren’t the type of guys you’ll be rooting for. In this film, Harold (successful, married and sober) reunites with his distant friend Kumar (depressed, unemployed and still in love with weed), tasked with finding the largest Christmas tree on Christmas Eve in order to impress Harold’s very religious Hispanic in-laws (one played by the great Danny Trejo).
Hilarity ensues, obviously, as plan after plan gets thwarted via Ukranian gangsters, a claymation drug trip, or by their own bad luck. Many moments are indeed hilarious including a 3D egg attack early in the film but it relies too heavily on a drugged up baby, a reoccurring gag throughout. The return of Neil Patrick Harris, is a welcome one, but all too brief and merely just there to be there, since two new friends played by Amir Blumenfeld and Thomas Lennon are along for the ride as the new best friends. And if all else fails, there’s the Waffle Bot that will surely make everyone’s wish list this holiday season.
The high-larious hijinks are surely not for everyone but buried underneath this fragmented treasure hunt of a film is a tale about friendship and growing up which may be lost or forgotten on most viewers. The Harold & Kumar ride is still enjoyable, even for those new to the trilogy, but if they intend to continue on the fourth, they may need to reinvent the wheel. As is, however, the third film is enough to bring a little premature immature Christmas joy to all who seek it.