Official Synopsis
Following years of growing apart, Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) have replaced each other with new friends and are preparing for their respective Yuletide celebrations. But when a mysterious package mistakenly arrives at Kumar’s door on Christmas Eve, his attempt to redirect it to Harold’s house ends with the “high grade” contents – and Harold’s father-in-law’s prize Christmas tree – going up in smoke. With his in-laws out of the house for the day, Harold decides to cover his tracks, rather than come clean. Reluctantly embarking on another ill-advised journey with Kumar through New York City, their search for the perfect replacement tree takes them through party heaven – and almost blows Christmas Eve sky high.
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Here’s the deal with the Harold & Kumar films; you must understand what you’re getting before you go. This isn’t Old School or The Hangover, this is a film about two stoners that have some pretty outrageous adventures. The pure purpose of this series is to make you laugh at any situation possible. It’s simply there to make you smile, and cringe a bit. If you can accept the film’s role as such then you’re going to see some fun times with the series.
Director Todd Strauss-Schulson did another great job with bringing the same amount of oddball humor to A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. You have the boys coming together again, as their lives sort of spiral in different directions after they stop being friends. The separation was neatly done and the coming together part was in beautiful Harold & Kumar fashion (they receive a ‘mysterious package’ that turns out to be a blunt). Outside of the really toeing the line sort of humor that we’ve all come to enjoy (well, most of us), the most impressive part of Strauss-Schulson’s construction of this film is how all the small adventures are bridged together pretty smoothly. For example, once Harold and Kumar discover the blunt in the package, Kumar lights it and then gets in an argument with Harold. The blunt ends up being thrown out the window, where it boomerangs back onto the Christmas tree that Harold’s father-in-law adores. The tree goes up in flames and thus starts the entire film’s main purpose; getting a replacement tree.
From this point, the movie is divided into pockets of unique situations, sort of like sketch comedy. Writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg put together these outrageous situations (like the boys finding their way into a Russian mafia house) and bridge them together perfectly. That’s what not only keeps the pace of the film fast and furious, but it also tells the viewer that they absolutely can’t guess what’s coming next. It’s fun and unique, and people watch this film for that exact purpose; just to be surprised on where the story goes.
One of the best parts of the film, and something that I thought might get annoying, is the constant obnoxious 3D element. Strauss-Schulson is pretty much playing on the ridiculous, force fed nature of the 3D film that most studios are pushing hard into theaters. I’ve seen some good 3D films (Thor and Captain America were amazing), but there are some films that just don’t need the 3D element, and this is one. The fact that they implemented it and then had ridiculous moments where they used it, only magnified the humor. This review copy wasn’t 3D, but when you watch the film you’ll see more than a few moments where the 3D is placed. It’s fun to watch being executed, and even more so in 2D.
Outside of the 3D obnoxiousness (which is fun), the only disappointment I had with the film is that there wasn’t enough Neil Patrick Harris, or NPH as he’s referred to in the film. His moment in the movie was gold, as he still maintains the womanizing character that he’s been in the last two films. What’s even funnier, is that David Burtka, his real life partner, is in the film as his fake real life partner. The scene is gold, plain and simple. I’m not going to ruin it be describing the dialogue, but you’re going to laugh your ass off. It’s really too bad that NPH only had about 5-7 minutes of screen time. I wanted more of him! The man needs a Neil Patrick Harris Appreciation Day, wouldn’t that be nifty? Psss… he’s got one — #ILOVENPH Anyway…
At the end of the day, I enjoy this series and this movie. I know that it’s not Mel Brooks or something that Todd Phillips has put together, but it’s lighthearted and fun. It doesn’t take itself serious, which means the audience doesn’t have to invest much in the film, other than money and an open sense of humor. I hope they continue to make these, as I would be open to watch more in the future.
As for the Blu-ray portion of this film, it looked good. The best scenes were the well-lit ones. You get a lot of rich colors in this film. The reds, blues, greens and yellows stand out really cleanly. There’s also a good balance with the black and white contrast, as it comes through crisp and clean. Having said that, there was a tiny bit of color banding when the boys are tied up by the Russian mafia. The lighting in that scene wasn’t particularly good, which might have helped with the color banding a bit. You see more than a few artifacts in this scene, with a smudge of graininess. Overall, the picture was pretty healthy and was good Blu-ray quality.
The audio was also impressive, as you get a 5.1 DTS-HD mastering job, which bodes well for this film. The film is presented in a 2.4:1 ratio.
As for features, here’s what you’re looking at:
Blu-ray Side
o Extra Dope Edition – Extended Cut Feature (Presented in 2D)
o Theatrical version
Special Features:
o Through the Haze with Tom Lennon (RT 8 mins)
o Bringing Harold & Kumar Claymation® to Life (RT 3:30 mins)
o Additional Scenes (RT 3:35)
DVD Side
o Theatrical version
UltraViolet Digital Copy
· Theatrical version
The HD and SD film come to you on one disc (just flip the disc, LD style, to watch one or the other). The features aren’t enormously huge, but you get some good stuff. The Tom Lennon feature is hilarious. The feature on the claymation in the film is pretty solid (no pun intended) and the additional scenes are gold. I wish there were more scenes. One thing that is missing, which this could have used, is commentary. I would have loved to hear from the cast/crew about the making of this film. Not bad features overall, though.
