Film Reviews

A Very Harold And Kumar 3D Christmas

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: John Cho
• Details: US/89mins 18

The little franchise that could, this third film in the Harold and Kumar series has a very a specific demo it's aiming at. Yep, it's the same stoners and folk who like to laugh at silly things while stoned. Is it completely stupid? Yes. Did it make me laugh a lot? Yes. Know what you're getting going in and this is amusing stuff.
Harold and Kumar have drifted apart since we last met them. Chu's Harold has ostensibly grown up and matured, settling into domestic bliss with his beautiful wife; while Penn's Kumar has continued even further down the slacker route and appears to care even less about things than when we first met him. At different points in their lives, they are reunited when a package for Harold arrives on Christmas Eve and Kumar drops it off at his place - somehow burning down his beautiful tree. Being that Harold's father in law (Danny Trejo... Scowling lots) is obsessed with the tree looking perfect, they embark on an adventure to find another one before his family returns from midnight mass.
Becoming more ridiculous as it moves along, the crassness levels in modern cinema may have ascended to an epic new high (sorry). Everyone is so game to pillage scenes for chuckles, that every so often a big one hits resulting in a genuine belly laugh. It's not without irony of course; A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas lets us know early on just how self-aware it is with a line coolly delivered by Kal Penn. It's an obvious one, but it simply reinforces what type of comedy you are watching and reminds you to switch your brain off and enjoy.
Penn and Cho also have that easy chemistry that makes every filthy line feel organic. Strangely groundbreaking in its pairing of stars, the duo have the timing down pat, and Cho looks like he's actually enjoying playing a different kind of character. Personally I'm shocked Pen came back to the series after such a high profile gig in The White House - or didn't take more flak for it - and he's very funny also. The 3D is obvious and fun, proving that it works best when in a gimmicky setting and the cast are all game.
Stupid it may be, it still made laugh. Fans of the franchise will enjoy this.

Review by Mike Sheridan