Reviews by Matt

There are some movies that beg for a sequel. These are those with an amazing story and a cast that you cannot get enough of. They are those movies that, when the credits roll, leave the audience wanting more.

“Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” was not one of those movies. It ended as it should have and nothing needed to be added. The story felt finished and while there was more that could have been said, but did not need to be.

Sadly I am not making the decisions in Hollywood and we have “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay”


This picks up where “White Castle” left off. Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) were on their way to Amsterdam to so Harold and profess his love for Maria (Paula Garcés). After a mishap on the airplane where Kumar’s smokeless bong is mistaken for a bomb and the two are thrown in Guantanamo Bay. They are there for about five minutes before they escape and make their way back to the States.

When they return they are on the run from the government but still make their way to Texas to stop the marriage of Kumar’s former girlfriend, Vanessa (Danneel Harris).

What I loved about the first one was it was, funny and original. This one pushed it too far. It took what made the first good and tried too hard to be funny. Don’t get me wrong, I still thought the movie was funny, but it was just too much. The same running joke can only be told so many times.

One of the best parts of the first was the surprise appearance of Neil Patrick Harris as a drugged-up, sex-crazed version of himself. In this one the surprise is gone and he is drastically less funny than he was in part one.

The movie was not bad. It was still funny, but there was nothing of real substance. There was something missing in the new adventure of America’s favorite stoners. There were still plenty of funny moments, some attempts at political satire, but in the end it just ends up as a middle of the pack comedy.

7 out of 10
Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language and drug use
100 min