In the seventies, we went "Up In Smoke" with Cheech and Chong. During the eighties we went on an "Excellent Adventure" with Bill and Ted. And in the ninties we discovered life on "Waynes World" in the form of Wayne and Garth.

Movie-goers have a had a long term relationship with storylines involving the expolits of two guys, recreational drugs and no respect for authority. The 'noughties' follows this long-standing tradition and has given us Harold and Kumar.

In Harold and Kumar's first outing, (Harold and Kumar Get the Munchies), we witnessed the hapless duo - as the title suggests - get the munchies after smoking a large quantity of weed. The movie follows their adventures as they attempt to get to a fast food burger bar called White Castle. What would seem a simple journey turns out to be a mammoth (and pretty hilarious) quest.

"Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantamano Bay" is the follow on from the first movie, and picks up the storyline where the first one finished. Harold (John Cho) is now totally besotted with his new girlfriend Maria (played by Paula Garces), however she has had to travel to Amsterdam on a modelling job. Harold and Kumar (Kal Penn) decide to follow Maria to the Dutch capital, but for different reasons - Harold, as he could not bear the thought of being separated from the love of his life, and Kumar for Amsterdam's relaxed attitude towards cannabis.
The trip soon runs into trouble however when, on the plane, Kumar reveals a "smokeless bong" that he has made. Unfortunately, due to the electronic nature of of the device, the current security climate and the pairs ethnic origins, fellow passengers jump to the conclusion that Harold and Kumar are terrorists. The pair are promptly detained by air marshalls, and sent to Guantamano Bay without trial.
Conditions within the compound are no picnic, and it is not long before Harold and Kumar take advantage of an opportunity to break free...

What follows is the escapees attempts to clear their names whilst outrunning the authorities intent on putting them back in Guantamano.


The original Harold and Kumar movie was a box office success. The story was simple, yet worked in a way that the target audience would appreciate. The humor pushed the limits of decency and taste, but if you were not easily offended was hilarious. The cast was selected from actors who had formerly filled support roles, and brought fresh faces to the screen. Also the original film struck comedy gold by incorporating a cameo role from Neil Patrick Harris - the actor who portrayed teenage genius "Doogie Howser M.D." in the eighties television series of the same name.

As previously mentioned this movie is a sequel and traditionally, with a couple of notable exceptions, sequels do not meet the high standards of the original film. "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantamano Bay" lives up to this reputation.
Everything that was funny and original in the first film has been dug up and reused, resulting in a predictable plot with jokes that you know are coming. In order to combat this and try and get a few laughs, the writers have tried to push the limits even further but overstepped the boundaries of taste on many occasions. Examples of this include when the duo stumble upon a "Ku Klux Klan bonfire", and are offered a "cockmeat sandwich" whilst in detention.
The whole subject of using Guantamano Bay as the subject of a comedy film was always going to be controversial, and unsurprisingly Amnesty International launched a protest over this. Even the repeat appearance of Neil Patrick Harris cannot inject a lifeline of humor into this movie.
At this point, you may consider that the writers would have given up, written off any idea of a sequel... but no - in sheer desperation where joke about bodily functions and racism have failed, they can always fall back on sex !
Using the same mathematical formula that an old car becomes an attractive and appealing old car when there is a naked woman draped across the bonnet, the writers have resorted to including some half naked (waist down !) women at a pool party in the story. Now this was actually quite a clever tactic, as this was around the point where I was considering switching off the movie, but the inclusion of this scene gave me the incentive to stay with the film until the end. Also, the fact that I have mentioned this scene in the review may also encourage a few more guys to rent or buy the DVD.

On the point of bush, the storyline of this film was always going to be ridiculous but even this exceeds expectations when, at one point, the two escapees parachute through the roof of George W. Bush's Texas ranch and meet with the man himself (a lookalike actor who remarkably looks nothing like the former U.S. President).

The DVD is available as an "Unrated" edition (which I never understand as it is 'rated' certificate 18 !). The first disc has the movie in widescreen format (1.85:1), along with audio commentary tracks from both the cast and directors. Commentaries can be an interesting feature on DVDs if the movie is good, but when the film is as bad as this one, it would seem that not many people will take the time to watch the film again with this feature on.
There is also a feature called "Dude, Change the Movie" which is a good idea, and allows the re sequencing of scenes as you choose your own adventure. Sadly there is not an option that allows you to skip to the end (other than the 'eject' button !)
The second disc is full of extra features, including a 'making of' featurette, outtakes (which are actually funnier than the film !), deleted scenes (yes, there was even worse scenes that they cut from the movie... 27 of them !), a George W. Bush public service announcement and trailers for other (funnier) films.

One good thing about the Harold and Kumar movies is that the title lets the audience know what to expect. As already mentioned, in the first film Harold and Kumar get the munchies. In the sequel, Harold and Kumar escape from Guantamano bay. With the announcement that a third Harold and Kumar movie is now in production, and scheduled for a 2010 release, I would expect it to be titled... "Harold and Kumar go Straight To DVD" !