Whether simple minded, high minded, or just plain high, pretty much everybody enjoyed “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.” Packaged as a dunderheaded stoner romp, and sold exactly to that demographic, the movie also boasted of light and funny political commentary, two strong lead performances and the essential mix of hysteria and nostalgia that any good buddy comedy needs. Much like the fumes that the flick ran on, “H & K” was intoxicating and absurd, but only in the most organic of ways. Perhaps that’s what makes their newest adventure, “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay,” such a disappointment.
The movie picks up no more then a few hours after the original left off, with high-strung Harold (John Cho) and troublemaker Kumar (Kal Penn) headed to Amsterdam to pursue Harold’s new flame, Maria (Paula Garcés). However, in the same spirit as the first film, one thing leads to another, disaster strikes, misunderstandings mount on top of one another, and they end up in the prison of the movie’s title. But despite its inclusion in the name, the boys’ stay in Guantanamo is extremely short-lived, quickly giving way to a mess of other improbable and silly events.
Anyone who has seen the first film can agree that this essentially sounds like the same formula, so why doesn’t it work twice? Well, it’s a long standing cliché among film snobs that nothing ruins comedy like money, and here is a textbook example of that principle at work. The charm of the first movie’s “night-to-remember” scenario is replaced by a globe-trotting adventure, spanning much of the United States as well as the two previously mentioned locations. Besides the increased geographical scope, the film also attempts to up the emotional ante, giving Kumar lady troubles of his own found in the form of lost-love Vanessa (Danielle Harris).
Not that it’s likely to offend any of its target audience, but “H & K 2” is also noticeably and needlessly crass. Forsaking the easy-going, foul-mouthed attitude of its origin film, “Guantanamo Bay” sounds like a middle school kid who just discovered swearing for the first time and is thus determined to shout the words at the top of his lungs until someone notices. Same goes for its gratuitous nudity, extreme racial stereotyping and political satire. To put it in the simplest way possible, the movie tries too hard.
All of this is not to say that the movie doesn’t have a few high points. While you might only get to laugh about seven or eight times during the flick’s whole runtime, those seven or eight cause belly aches and sore knees. In a world where I thought we had used up every funny concept involving President Bush around a year ago, a few more really quality laughs rise from the ashes of the movie’s dull moments, as well as another inspired cameo by Neal Patrick Harris, once more portraying himself.
With its charismatic leads, loose story lines and general fun-loving attitude, I could still see Harold and Kumar becoming a terrific film franchise. Unfortunately, though, our generation’s Cheech and Chong will have to blaze their way through their second chapter. Sloppy editing and lazy screenwriting abounding, “Guantanamo Bay” isn’t a terrible movie, it’s just lazier than we would expect from our two favorite stoner slackers.