Harold And Kumar 2 Review
Thanks for checking out our Harold And Kumar 2 Review! We had a chance to see the film at the SXSW premier last night with members of the cast in attendance, including his eternal holiness Neil Patrick Harris
The General Idea
Plot Synopsis from Imdb: Follows the cross-country adventures of the pot-smoking duo as they try to outrun authorities who suspect them of being terrorists when they try to sneak a bong on board their flight to Amsterdam.
The Good
This film can be split into two parts; before Neil Patrick Harris (B.N.P.H) and after Neil Patrick Harris (A.N.P.H). The film is alright up until the man hits the screen and then explodes into the stratosphere of hilarity. His appearance in the first film delighted everyone, and his follow up met all my expectations and then some. Every time he delivered a line, the theatre went fucking nuts. NPH stole the show and everybody seemed to be fine with it. This man is a comedic actor of the highest degree, this role was tailored to showcase his ability, and his scene involving magic mushrooms and a unicorn is the stuff of legend. The pair of Harold And Kumar Films have put this man on a pedestal, and with luck others will utilize his amazing talent.
This film is chock full of jokes. If one falls flat for you another will soon grab you and pull you in. The scatter shot approach to comedy doesn’t always work, but here the number of great gags/jokes outnumbered the bad and it was a winning strategy. People were laughing often and hard throughout this film, and at the end of the day - that is what you want out of a comedy film. Much of my scoring of a film is based on “if it did what it intended to do” - and pragmatically this film excelled.
The Bad
One of the downfalls of a scatter shot approach to comedy films, is that the story will often suffer. The story here is weak and of no real interest. This would get annoying if any time was spent developing it, but luckily so little time is spent on the plot - you hardly notice it is there. The story cuts ahead so fast, and events work out so perfectly for the characters, that the film indulges in self mockery of this very fact (I found this to be both humorous and necessary). Although the story was a weakness, the fact that it was flipped over as an afterthought was the best thing that could have happened to this film.
The film picks up with Harold looking to follow his love to Amsterdam, and for no good reason a second love interest was added for Kumar. The Kumar love interest story-line has more screen time than Guantanamo Bay; and that upset me. I was annoyed to see another love story in the film, and again, this could have derailed much of the hilarity if so little time was spent on it. Multiple love interests in a comedy is always bullshit; one is bad enough.
Overall
This film was a blast to see with a packed theatre and will not disappoint fans of the original film. Neil Patrick Harris injects a nitrous boost of hilarity and the film continues on with the momentum till finish. This is certainly a film you will want to check out when you get a chance and I recommend it. Out of 10 I would give this film 7.5
16 Comments, Comment or Ping
Kristina
Score out of ten?
And I swear, I was reading this and thought, “Doug wrote this” before I got to the bottom and saw your name. I could almost hear you talking, Nagy. I like your writing style:)
Mar 9th, 2008
cib3k
Just curious - except for his part in the Harold and Kumar movies, why is Neil Patrick Harris so popular? Because of Doogie Howser M.D.? I had never heard of him or that show before H&K.
Mar 9th, 2008
clone_tk422
Quote by Doug
“One of the downfalls of a scatter shot approach to comedy films, is that the story will often suffer. The story here is weak and of no real interest.”
I have no problems with this, Look at the plot line for the first one - The whole movie was based on them trying to get to a white castle to eat a burger!! And the movie Still turned out hilarious
Quote by cib3k
“Just curious - except for his part in the Harold and Kumar movies, why is Neil Patrick Harris so popular? Because of Doogie Howser M.D.? I had never heard of him or that show before H&K.”
Go check out a little tv show called How I Met your Mother now in its third season. Also starring Alysson Hannigon - NPH steals the show every week and he plays a a male stud so well. despite the fact hes gay in real life. No method acting used here. Suit up!
Also he was in Starship Troopers but not in a comedic role
Mar 9th, 2008
Mike Mai
doug, did you suit up to see this film? and did you get to talk to the legendary NPH?
Mar 9th, 2008
DON
Great.
Mar 9th, 2008
hosero
I can’t wait to see this one. I am glad Doug liked it, but I would really like to hear what John has to say about it.
Mar 9th, 2008
Movie Blog
Well, there will probably be a lot of titties and gore so…
I recommend a free online Web site to see the film “GB Movie Blog“.
Mar 9th, 2008
dougnagy
hahahahahh no suit - I need to get a new one.
Sadly i did not get to talk top NPH, with hope the day will come!
Mar 9th, 2008
tc
NPH is comic gold on “Mother.” In fact, I would say he is, “Legend, wait for it……dary”
Mar 10th, 2008
fio
cib3k - NPH was also on Stark Raving Mad.
That was a hilarious show. ^^
Mar 21st, 2008
Hirazuki
As soon as I head this movie was being made I was excited. I loved the first one and after it finished had to go get burgers LOLZ. No can’t wait to see this movie it looks funny as.
Mar 23rd, 2008
lili
hi
Apr 11th, 2008
lili
WOW…so sweet! seems she is famous on a tall dating site~~~~~~~Tallhub.com ,there are many hot models.they vote the most beautiful member each month.
Apr 11th, 2008
Joe
I love How I Met Your Mother and even enjoyed the first Harold and Kumar movie, but this one was a steaming pile of crap. We walked out of the SXSW premiere. Story matters, even in comedy. This movie had none. It was a LAZY attempt by the writer/director to ride on the coat tails of the first movie. And why is it that gratuitous female nudity is always sexual (and quite frankly makes the filmmakers look like sad little frat boys who can’t get any), while male nudity is considered funny and is not at all sexualized in comedies like these? Grow up, people!
Apr 16th, 2008
APB
There’s a much funnier, sharper and cheaper comedy about Guantanamo Bay on iTunes, called ‘Jesus: The Guantanamo Years’.
There’s a YouTube clip here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=972KIlxh4jM
Here’s what critics made of that one:
“Way beyond superficial religious satire… Absorbing, intricately woven, challenging and… highly entertaining.”
- Malcolm Hay, TimeOut
“Displays superb humanity… destined to be a Fringe favourite… Miraculous. *****”
- The National Student
“The greatest stand-up story ever told… Funny, thoughtful, impassioned…Deserves a comic sainthood.”
- The Stage
Jesus Christ returns to earth, but He doesn’t get through U.S. immigration because He’s a bearded, Middle-Eastern guy, prepared to die as a martyr.
Christ is detained and interrogated under the Patriot Act. He is then sent to Guantanamo Bay, which He describes as “a maximum-security prison, designed and run by Kentucky Fried Chicken: there are horrible uniforms; battery-size wire-mesh cages; and most of the staff are ignorant teenagers with no alternative career prospects.”
In His first one-man show for almost two millennia, Jesus talks candidly about His time in Guantanamo, His relationship with His Father, and His on-going legal battle with Monty Python’s Life of Brian.
This award-winning one-man show has delighted live audiences from the Edinburgh Fringe to the USA, and from London’s West End to Pakistan. Within a month of its on-line launch in March 2008, it reached the iTunes Top 10 Comedy Albums in the UK, Finland, Belgium, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden and Japan.
” Well-thought-out and cleverly written… a truly fresh take on the US, Guantanamo Bay and the war on terror…The face of this year’s [Edinburgh] Fringe”
- The Scotsman
“A rising star on the Irish stand-up scene”
- Time
Apr 25th, 2008
Scott
I am a huge fan of Harold and Kumar and ever since I saw the first film I was waiting for the sequel to come out. I’m so glad that they made a sequel but I was afraid that it wasn’t going to be as funny and that I would expect too much out of it. Luckily ‘Escape From Guantanamo Bay’ was a hilarious movie. I saw it on opening night and loved every minute of it. I’m honestly thinking about going to the theatre again and seeing it a second time. I can’t wait until it comes out on DVD. I definitely recommend it to anyone.
Apr 27th, 2008
Reply to “Harold And Kumar 2 Review”