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 Rated: R
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is just as great as Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, especially in a world where a sequel does not always live up to the hype. Its raunchy material is incredibly hilarious. Both the narrative and visual gags are so funny, there is no way anyone will be able to keep a straight face during this one.
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay begins where White Castle left off. Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) are in their apartment, getting ready to go to Amsterdam, with hopes to score the girl and the weed. Once on the plane, Kumar is labeled a terrorist when his bong is mistaken for a bomb. The government now assumes that the two are part of an Al-Qaeda/North Korea terrorist plot against the United States. Thus, Harold & Kumar wind up in prison in Guantanamo Bay.
Like Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, the sequel is also a road movie. Instead of driving around New Jersey, this time around Harold and Kumar are taking a trip through the South, after they escape from prison. They begin in Miami and ultimately end up in Texas, where Kumar's love interest is. Along the way they meet plenty of new characters who are worthy to be remembered, and Harold and Kumar are reunited with an old friend -- Neil Patrick Harris reprises his role as the exaggerated version of himself.
This film introduces new slang with attempts to "mainstream" this less widely known "sexual" lingo. There are many memorable scenes and lines that will have fans talking about this movie for months. For those huge Harold & Kumar fans, it is like seeing your friends on the first day of school after a long summer.
Just like the original, Guantanamo Bay satirizes race and ethnicity. However, this film has incorporated many more political elements, and it works. The team behind Harold & Kumar has used comedy to address the immigration issue, racism, and ethnocentrism to name a few. And just when you think it won't go there, it will.
Starring: Kal Penn, John Cho, Neil Patrick Harris, David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Rob Corddry
This Reviewer's Rating:    3.5 / 5
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