logan j. fowler and bill bodkinlook at the third installment of the stoner comedy …
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided: Undecided.
Ugh, I’m so torn on this one. I know what you’re thinking; “Logan, this isn’t the Grapes Of Wrath of this generation, it’s Harold & Kumar.” Valid, yes. However, I supremely enjoyed the first outing with the duo, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, and I found the sequel, Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay to be disappointing but still funny. So for 2/3 of the trilogy, I’ve actually liked the movies featured and that’s what is making me unsure of seeing the third entry.
The 3D “effects” shown in the trailer poke fun at the gimmick 3D has become, which caused me to chuckle. Also, Neil Patrick Harris brings comedy gold to these films, so that interest is there too. While seeing it in the theater would serve the most purpose as to get the best usage of the 3D, I don’t know if I want to spend that much money, and renting it may come to pass, but the trailer didn’t cause me to laugh as much as I wanted, which makes me think the movie is not worth my time completely. But the true jokes may be hidden within the film itself, and that intrigues me all the more. You may think I’m crazy, after all, this is a Harold & Kumar threequel we are talking about here. I guess when the right time comes, I’ll make my final decision about celebrating a 3D Christmas.
— LJF
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided. Rent.
The first Harold & Kumar is a film that I love today as much as I did when I first saw a free screening of it back in ’04. It was an unexpected, intelligent stoner comedy that kept me in stitches for the entire film and upon multiple viewings, still does. The second film, however, had a lot of expectations — and it failed to deliver. It tried too hard to top the original causing it to go down the slippery slope of relying on unnecessarily racial, homophobic and crude sight gags and one-liners. The latest chapter of our favorite Hoboken stoners I believe will be right in the middle of the first two films. It’ll be funnier, more clever than the second film, but still won’t hold a candle to the original. The return of NPH and the chemistry between John Cho and Kal Penn will carry this film and provide a ton of hilarious moments. However, after getting burned, badly, by the second film, I’ll wait til the film hits DVD to watch it.
— BB
