I chose to review "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" because I am a fan of both the movie series and the actors starring in it. I have been known to partake in certain indulgences this movie glorifies and have been a fan since the very first movie hit theaters.
Describe:
"A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" (H&K3D) is the third movie about two best friends, Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn), and the drug fueled misadventures they embark on. In the first movie of the series is based around the simple goal of making it to White Castle to satiate the munchies (Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle), while the second movie follows them as they are mistakenly assumed to be terrorists and taken to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay) from which they hilariously escape.
It's funny to note that during the three year break between the filming of Escape and H&K3D Kal Penn was the associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement for the Obama administration. He relinquished his position to film this movie and make some appearances in other media before resuming his job again after filming finished.
H&K3D is very similar to the other two movies in the series, as I mentioned above it continues the storyline of the other two tales and uses many of the same sort of comedic situations that made the first movie so popular. There were also numerous cameos from past characters and references to the events of the previous movie, including a scene where H&K eat at White Castle and references to the term "Cock Meat Sandwich" which the second movie helped popularize in the online and stoner communities.
This movie is very similar to most other stoner and buddy comedies. There are plenty of scenes showing people using various drugs from weed to coke to ecstasy, including the accidental indulgence of a 3-4 year old girl in a few different drugs throughout the series. I also think that it's kind of strange that both the "Friday" series of movies and the H&K series of movies decided to focus on the holiday season for their third movies. It is also similar to the works of director Judd Apatow, such as "Pineapple Express" and "Knocked Up" in it's absurd comedy via dialogue or physical "skits" and in it's ability to embrace the stoner lifestyle without completely mocking it.
Interpretation:
H&K3D is not fine art, it's "high" art. It is not important to society, nor does it hold any place of importance to society. It's mindless entertainment and it embraces this ideal to it's core. This definitely reflects a trend in our society, as Aldous Huxley once wrote, "We are amusing ourselves to death."
H&K3D is one of those movies that one watches to forget about their worries and just have a good laugh to cleanse one's soul. The target audience for this movie is the stoner community and males 18-34. This is evidenced by all the drug references, random scenes of nudity, and the juvenile behavior of all the characters. There are so many stereotypes in this movie that one could write an entire blog post just analyzing every instance of it in the 1 hour and 29 minutes the movie runs for. My personal favorite example happens early in the movie where two black guys are running a tree lot and play "Bill Cosby/Tupac" (an urban version of Good Cop/Bad Cop) to get patrons to pay more for their trees. Likewise, if you dislike offensive messages, foul language, or inappropiate situations then one should see a different movie... H&K3D is about as offensive as they come.
Evaluation:
The strengths of this movie are that it knows it's target audience (stoners and males aged 18-34) and attempts to satiate their wants from the series. I also think that their use of the 3D technology is a strength due to this being one of the first comedy movies to embrace the medium well (I'm sure James Cameron would disagree, but he's old and seems to be cranky unless someone is giving him an Oscar).
By doing this though it alienates most other viewers who are not "on the level" with their brand of humor. I also think it hurts the series by repeating the same jokes and situations from the previous entries.
I would have to say that this movie is just above mediocre; not the brightest bulb on the tree, but definitely not the one that burns out every time you look away. The best Harold and Kumar movie is and always will be the first one, no matter how much they (directors, actors, or writers) try to recreate the situations in other locations. There will be memorable sound bites, but this movie will quickly only be remembered as that one H&K movie they did in 3D.
"The majority of critics maintain the stoney laughs are many, the 3-D effects are ridiculous (in a good way), and that the third "Harold & Kumar" deserves a place on every college kid's DVD shelf, right next to a copy of the original flick." writes Eric Ditzian for MTV.com while summing up the critical response to H&K3D. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Peter Travers had this to say in his review for Rolling Stone, "H&K are past their sell-by date. Way past." It should also be noted the Travers gave the Jennifer Lopez vehicle "Monster-in-Law a 3/4, while it was widely panned by most critics.
Engage:
I was already an established fan of the series and own both other movies on DVD, so I am pretty much obligated to purchase the third movie to round out my collection. My friends and family are "on the level" which makes all of us enjoy the same kinds of comedy.
On a side note: If they made the WaffleBot commercially available I would buy myself a massive army to conquer breakfast once and for all.
Summary:
"A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" is exactly what one would expect from the title. It's H&K doing their thing (smoking, drinking, swearing) around Christmas presented to you in glorious 3D. This is either appealing or appalling to you.. this is an R-Rated comedy that takes full advantage of it's rating. The only thing that could have improved the movie would be more Neil Patrick Harris!
I learned that the best time to view a movie aimed at a 18-34 year old demographic is on a Monday night, my friend and I were the only two people in the entire theater. I also learned not to dismiss a sequel just because it's a sequel.
HAPPY HOLIDAZE!
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