A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

Plot synopsis:
Seven years after escaping Guantanamo Bay, best friends and roommates Harold Lee and Kumar Patel have gone their separate ways. Harold has given up smoking cannabis, become a successful business man on Wall Street and married his Latina girlfriend Maria. Kumar on the other hand is poor, and still lives in the messy apartment he once shared with Harold. Kumar has recently been dumped by his girlfriend Vanessa, who arrives at Kumar's apartment to inform him that she is pregnant with his child. Maria's father and Harold's father-in-law, Mr. Perez, decides to stay at Harold and Maria's house for the Christmas holiday. Mr. Perez, who doesn't like Harold, also brings over his prized Christmas tree that he has been growing for eight years, and gives Harold a short lecture about the tree's importance. Kumar receives a package with Harold's name on it at his apartment, and decides to deliver it to Harold. At Harold's house, they discover the item inside is a large marijuana joint.
Kumar lights it up, but Harold throws it out of the window, only for it to magically land in the tree, and burn it down. Harold learns that Kumar's new friend Adrian is attending a party with a Fraser Fir Christmas tree, and promises to drive him to the party on the condition that he can have the tree. Harold, Kumar, Adrian, and Harold's new best friend Todd, arrive at the party, where a girl named Mary attempts to seduce Harold. It turns out that Mary is the daughter of a Russian mob kingpin named Sergei Katsov who sends two of his men to kill Harold and Kumar, believing that they were trying to rape his daughter. The duo make it out of the building, without the Christmas tree, and run into their friends, Rosenberg and Goldstein, for the first time in years. Harold and Kumar plan to steal a tree from a church, but end up participating in a Christmas show featuring Neil Patrick Harris, who they thought had died after being shot outside a Texas whorehouse seven years ago. Harris reveals that he did die but Jesus Christ kicked him out of Heaven. Harris hooks the pair up with a Christmas tree, and a Wafflebot, before sending them off.
The two make their way to Harold's house to put up the tree, but end up being kidnapped by two of Katsov's men, and are saved by Wafflebot. After accidentally shooting Santa Claus in the head, Kumar gives him emergency surgery. In exchange for saving his life, Santa agrees to fly them back home in his sleigh, and reveals that he sent the package to reunite the friends. Harold arrives home to encounter Mr. Perez, who is angered when he discovers his Christmas tree is gone. Harold finally stands up to him, explaining that he may not be the perfect son-in-law, but he is the perfect guy for Maria. Mr. Perez says that he always knew Harold was a nice guy, he just wanted to make sure that he had "cojones" before accepting him into his family. Harold and Kumar rekindle their friendship, Kumar and Vanessa rekindle their romance, and Kumar tells Vanessa that he will re-take the exams to become a doctor for the sake of their child. Maria discovers that she is pregnant on Christmas morning and that Santa has left a replacement tree in their lounge. Harold decides to smoke weed again, and he and Kumar share a joint again for the first time. The film ends with Santa smoking a bong while riding his sleigh.

Tags: comedy, humor, romantic

Review:
Harold has to decorate a Christmas tree.But when Kumar comes over and accidentally burns down the tree, they then have to find a new one, steal it from a drug-lord gangster thug, try to not rape his daughter, crash a musical production of The Nutcracker, and limit the number of people they shoot and drug (to only Santa Claus and a baby).The 3D is of course a gimmick.
It makes it okay when the out-and-proud Neil Patrick Harris makes gay jokes, or when Cho and Penn make racial jokes.I enjoyed the journey that they take in "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas".
I have an affection for raunchy comedies and I love 3D so this marriage in "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" definitely filled voids in places where most movies have been lacking as of late.First and foremost, the movie was entertaining throughout with no dull moments.
Although some might think this film could be considered lowbrow, it really isn't because it was well written and the situations (as absurd as they are) work to even satisfy an intelligent viewer with a good time.The 3D experience was better in this movie than most I've seen in years.
Once again, Harold and Kumar bring it with more completely original ideas that made me laugh like a maniac several times throughout the movie.
Somewhere along the way in the second film, Harold & Kumar morphed into a strange, comedic fantasy rather than a straight forward comedy.There was a gag in the second film about a child with a severe birth defect giving him only one eye, and very many scenes in this film involving fictionalized events such as a baby crawling around on the roof after getting mixed in with cocaine and the certain appearance of a jolly character.
However, the package is a huge joint and Kumar smokes it and accidentally sets the Christmas tree on fire which would anger Harold's step dad (played by Danny Trejo, who once I saw his first appearance in this movie, it all went uphill from there).
Things like Russian mobsters, babies getting high, and end up at a Christmas show hosted by Doogie Houser (who is really funny in this movie) all pretty much adds up to hilarious hi jinks.
Sh*t got messed up!The Movie also manages to speak on real life affairs of Kal Penn working at the white house, Neil Patrick Harris's same-sex relationship, and John Cho's angry mob on wall street.3D was especially effective when smoking and other gags but good without it.Adding on to the iconic Christmas tale genre, "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas" is definitely a stoner cult classic..
And Neil Patrick Harris, whilst furthering his womanising image as the philandering Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, publicly came out and announced his engagement to David Burtka.Sadly, what has also changed for the modern-day Cheech and Chong, is the standard of jokes, scenarios and secondary characters.Gone are the punctuated, episodic scenes which defined the first two films and saw the duo jump from situations as memorable as racing a cheetah through the woods, attending a bottomless party, hitching a ride with the boil-covered Freakshow, and sharing a bed with a red-neck cyclops-baby.
The film doesn't look quite as appealing or inventive as previous entries, and the exploitive 3D hampers the whole affair and slows down the story.Neil Patrick Harris appears after a particularly dull period, instantly drawing laughs as the resurrected, crack-addled, and now publicly 'gay' NPH that everyone has come to know and love.
The two most lovable stoners in movie history return in "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas," which somehow continues the series' impressive balancing act of clever humor, crude jokes, stoner gags and heart.When you look at the franchise's three biggest stars — John Cho, Kal Penn and Neil Patrick Harris — it becomes clearer why the movies work.
If they had been written and portrayed as shallow, obnoxious stoners, this Christmas special would've been direct-to-DVD and recast with no-name actors.This third adventure takes place six years after "Escape from Guantanamo Bay," and our dear friends have stopped talking to each other because Harold has grown up and Kumar has not.
He courteously brings it to Harold's new house, where they reconnect and discover it's a giant joint, and they accidentally burn down Harold's father-in-law's (Danny Trejo) beloved Christmas tree.The search to replace the Christmas tree before midnight mass is on, and it takes the duo and their replacement best friends Todd (Thomas Lennon) and Adrian (Amir Blumenfeld) on less of a wild journey in terms of geography and general weirdness, but one with plenty of wacked-out sequences from claymation drug trips to NPH's recollection of his time in heaven to an R-rated riff on a classic "A Christmas Story" gag.With all the 3D pandering and psychedelic trips (every drug imaginable gets play time), "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" was meant to be experienced on the big screen (or a 3D LED set), but its meta jabs at the medium help ease the multitude of slow-motion shots that hurt the pacing of the movie when viewed in 2D.As a fan of the series who is not a fan of the marijuana (in the using sense), several scenes remind the sober viewers we're not high enough to watch this movie, but enough of the jokes are clever as opposed to simply balls-out.
They get a three year old girl high on both weed and coke, get on the wrong side of ruthless Eastern European gangster Sergei Katsov (Elias Koteas has to be seen to be believed), encounter Santa himself (a scuzzy Richard Rhiele), star in their own drug fuelled stop motion version of their lives and barge into a magnificent Christmas special film set, starring you guessed, Neil Patrick Harris, who has a ball with his most disgusting antics of these movies thus far.
The comedy was great and as usual the acting didn't have any flaws.The movie happens a few years after the escape from jail, in the starting harold and kumar are not together, i.e. their friendship wasn't as good as it always was, but then they got together on Christmas, and they go through a lot of crazy things to find a Christmas tree.
They have run-ins with a pair of black Christmas tree salesmen, Ukrainian mobsters, Santa Claus and Neil Patrick Harris (Starship Troopers)."A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Chrstimas" is a worthy continuation of the series.
The movie is still funny, but the jokes are no longer new, and the laughs don't come as quick as the first film."A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" may not be the holiday classic that "A Christmas Story" is (although there is a shocking scene that pays homage to the 1983 comedy), it is worth seeing for anyone who enjoyed the first two films..
A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR Christmas is better than the second movie but still fails to recapture the original sense of adventure of their first quest to White Castle.
I realize the Harold and Kumar movies are always going to be about the two of them finding themselves in a ridiculous situation and encountering wacky shenanigans in trying to accomplish their goal (in this case, replacing Danny Trejo's Christmas tree), but the last movie played it a little too safe in copying the best bits of the original.
There's a lot of laughs in the movie and the Christmas theme hasn't softened the humor at all; if anything, it's just made it better.John Cho and Kal Penn haven't lost an ounce of their awesome chemistry and continue to play perfectly off each other.
Christmas is a really fun movie and actually maintains a little bit of sentimentality that comes with the holiday as Harold tries to appease his father-in-law (a hilarious cameo from Danny Trejo) and Kumar tries to rise into his upcoming role as father to a child.
This movie is set years after the second movie where Harold, played by John Cho, is now a married businessman who tries to win the respect of his Mexican Christmas-obsessed father-in-law, portrayed by Danny Trejo from 'Machete', while Kumar, played by Kal Penn, is still an irresponsible wreck awaiting for the next high.
I love to watch previous Harold & Kumar movies because this part is crap :( If you like the first and second one , stay away.
You have seen the trailer: The dudes accidentally shoot Santa Claus, who comes crashing to the ground from his sleigh on Christmas Eve. Amazingly, it is an integral part of the story.At times Hurwitz and Schlossberg seem to be repackaging "The Hangover" with Harold's new best friend Todd (brilliantly bland Tom Lennon), who has his daughter Ava (Ashley and Chloe Coss) in tow for the quest.
This conclusion to the classic Harold and Kumar trilogy that began when they went to White Castle before escaping from Guantanamo Bay before finally spending Christmas in New York with friends and family.
Then, they almost get killed again, this time by some gangsters.Thanks to the veritable array of ethnicities in the film there are some hilarious race jokes that come across nicely, but the highlight of the film must be when Harold and Kumar have a run in with "America's Sweetheart" Neil Patrick Harris.
Four years after their last movie, they're back with the third film in the series.'A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas' retains the elements which made the series so funny: lots of smoking, getting high, self-referential moments, unbelievable shenanigans, a waffle-making robot and a hilarious cameo from Neil Patrick Harris!
They also poke fun at the Christmas movie conventions, Kal Penn's time in the White House and the use of 3D, with objects flying at the screen.The plot isn't anything too original: Harold and Kumar have lost touch and Harold (John Cho) is under the thumb of his scary father-in-law (Danny Trejo) and takes responsibility for decorating their beloved tree.
The film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle deservedly became a cult classic in 2003, because besides its references to the "stoner" culture and the irreverent humor, there was a solid basis of sincere friendship which humanized the main characters, and avoided them to become simple caricatures making stupidities under the influence of marijuana (among other drugs).
So, I had low expectations before watching A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, because its trailers suggested a repetition of the febrile and unbridled style of the second film, instead of the "character comedy" from the first one.
Fortunately, that expectation ended up being only partially true, so I ended up enjoying this third movie more than Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, but less than Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.The screenplay of A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas attempts to gradually increment the level of the main characters' adventures in order to bring some rhythm to the narrative, but when we lead to the cameo of Jesus Christ and Santa Claus' surgery, it's already too late to ask for any coherence or realism.
In other words, what I liked the most in this movie was the honest expression of loyalty and friendship between the main characters.The irreverent and politically incorrect humor is exactly what we can expect in a Harold and Kumar movie, so in order not to ruin the best moments of A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, I will mention that I approximately laughed 20% of the times, I smiled a 50%, and the remaining 30% produced a slight irritation on me.
But if you MUST know Harold and Kumar reluctantly team up with new buds in tow to find a replacement Christmas tree so that Harold can please his Father in Law (Danny Trejo) who is spending his first Christmas with them.Along the way expect drug use, beer pong, Ukrainian gangsters and tripping babies.The point of the film is that it is in 3D, so at various times we can witness the following items fly past, over or toward us: smoke (natch), eggs, joints, baby Jesus and wait for it, semen.( Yep, bring your folks to this one.) Patton Oswalt plays a mall Santa in an unfortunately all too short cameo, Neil Patrick Harris is once again back to play an alternate NPH, and as always chaos reigns.A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is everything you expect – i.e. nothing you could rightfully expect – and nothing you don't – i.e. good taste, low key, well crafted jokes – but it's all too stupidly funny to bother hatin' on it.Suffice to say if you liked Harold and Kumar in 2D, you'll like them just as much in 3D.Final Rating – 6 / 10.
If one is looking forward to this weekend to kick back and just toss your shoes off your feet so it lands in different directions in your living room, grab a bowl of popcorn and rest your legs on the coffee table in front of you or even on your over weight Labrador and just have a good laugh I do give confidently give A VERY HAROLD AND KUMAR Christmas the green light!Title: A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas Directed by: Strauss - Schulson Starring: Kal Penn, John Cho, Thomas Lennon, Amir Blumenfeld and Neil Patrick Harris Rated: R Rating: 06/10 90 minutes.
Provides tons of laugh out loud moments, but isn't a movie I will watch every Christmas.Acting/Casting: 6.5* - Pretty much standard for Harold & Kumar.
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D ChristmasIt makes perfect sense that people would want to get high on marijuana during the holiday season: Christmas is pure munchie heaven.Unfortunately, the stoners in this comedy are too wrapped up in their search for a Christmas tree to enjoy a stuffing sandwich on gingerbread.
Even though some of the humor comes off as a bit forced, I found the majority of the film to be clever, witty, amusing, and very funny.Do I need to bother talking about Kal Penn and John Cho (Harold and Kumar)?
Overall: "A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas" manages to deliver everything we expect from a movie titled as such, and even manages to pass by with impressive 3D, which I didn't think a raunchy comedy could pull off so well.
Some of the jokes aren't very funny, but the ones that do work are a joy to watch, no matter how offensive or disgusting they are.Harold and Kumar are as likable as ever, and as simple as the story may be, it's actually quite an engaging one.If your a fan of the franchise or you like your Christmas movies with raunchy humor and weed galore, then your sure to like this one..
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011) ~umR ☛ 6/10 Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson Stars: Kal Penn, John Cho and Neil Patrick Harris 90 min - Comedy Harold & Kumar is back but with a little less fun this time....I wouldn't say this movie disappointed me coz it did had some really laugh out loud scenes but wish there was little more to enjoy.
Even said that I wish this movie lived up to the previous parts...All in all the movie was pretty kool, and I did have a good time...watch out for that egg throwing scene...;)STORYLINESix years have elapsed since Guantanemo Bay, leaving Harold and Kumar estranged from one another with very different families, friends and lives.
Once again, Harold and Kumar (Kal Penn) find themselves on a specific mission; this time it is to replace a Christmas tree to appease an angry father-in-law (Danny Trejo).
It has been 6 years since Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) escaped Guantanamo Bay. The two best buddies have grown apart.
It is definitely funny and has its moments but the second one is still the best.This movie takes place many years after the second and harold and kumar are no longer friends.
I loved the scenes with great decorations, I liked the parts with Neil Patrick Harris, just not because I'm a fan but they were successful.All in all you can spare your time to watch this but don't hit the play button with high expectations..
I wasn't sure if this was going to have the same kick as the previous films had, but A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas not only delivered in the laughs but was actually a very good movie that in it's own crude way was a touching story about how friends can grow apart but reunite by the weirdest situations.Harold is now a successful businessman who works at a popular company while Kumar is still living the life of a stoner handling a bad break up with Vanessa.
Resulting in the two going on another zany adventure, this time to replace the tree!!!First off, you know what to expect, from a Harold and Kumar movie, however that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Despite the same ole buddy-movie/"I'm getting too old for this sh*t" plot, it was still enjoyable with the reliable portrayals from both Kal Penn and John Cho.The movie takes place years after Harold & Kumar's second adventure to Guantanamo Bay and the boys have split up.
And the plot is very shallow -- it revolves around trying to find a new Christmas Tree for Harold (John Cho) because his estranged best friend Kumar (Kal Penn) accidentally destroyed it.
He loves Christmas, but like all fathers-in-law in movies like this, he thinks Harold isn't good enough for his daughter.
For stoner comedy fans, the duo of Kal Penn and John Cho returning once again for a third Harold and Kumar movie (this set on Christmas Eve) might be ideal, but I guess I'm not particularly the audience for it.
But classic "Harold & Kumar" circumstances bring the two back together on Christmas Eve as they race against time to save the holiday from disaster.I give the movie credit that it's still a very funny film.