Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Directors:

Jon Hurwitz
Hayden Schlossberg

Writers (WGA):

Jon Hurwitz (written by) &
Hayden Schlossberg (written by) ...

Release Date:

25 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

This time they're running from the joint.

Plot:

Follows the cross-country adventures of the pot-smoking duo as they try to outrun authorities who suspect them of being terrorists when they try to sneak a bong on board their flight to Amsterdam.

Plot Keywords:

Homeland Security | Person On Fire | Attempted Prison Rape | Incest | Interracial Relationship

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

John Cho	...	Harold Lee
Kal Penn	...	Kumar Patel
Rob Corddry	...	Ron Fox
Jack Conley	...	Deputy Frye
Roger Bart	...	Dr. Jack Beecher
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Neil Patrick Harris
Danneel Harris	...	Vanessa Fanning
Eric Winter	...	Colton Graham
Paula Garcés	...	Maria
Jon Reep	...	Raymus
Missi Pyle	...	Raylene
Mark Munoz	...	Cyrus
James Adomian	...	George W. Bush
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Sally
Echo Valley	...	Tits Hemingway

Also Known As:

Harold & Kumar 2 (Singapore: English title) (USA) (working title)
Harold and Kumar Go to Amsterdam (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language and drug use.

Runtime:

100 min | USA:107 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA | USA:R (certificate #43603) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) (original rating) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Ireland:16 | UK:18 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

In an April 24 2008 Newark Star Ledger interview, the writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg mention that the poem "The Square Root of Three" that Kumar recites was written by a classmate of theirs, David Feinberg when all three went to Randolph High School in New Jersey. They were happy they could include in the film a poem they loved while growing up, and Feinberg was thrilled to make a contribution to the film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The device Kumar finds in the car, and uses to call Goldstein, is a Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. It is not even a phone, and is wrongly referred to as Nokia 7710.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Kumar Patel: [taking a dump] Oh God, dude!
Harold Lee: [in shower] What the fuck? What the fuck? What are you doing?
Kumar Patel: I'm taking the most incredible dump of all time, man.
Harold Lee: You couldn't wait until I got out of the shower?
Kumar Patel: Um, may I remind you that we both just ate 30 burgers and 4 large orders of fries?
[continues to take a dump]
Kumar Patel: Don't worry, in a little bit I'm sure it'll hit you too.
Harold Lee: Maybe, but I'm going to wait until you get out of the shower!
Kumar Patel: Well don't wait too long. We gotta leave for the airport in an hour.
Harold Lee: An hour?
Kumar Patel: Uh-huh. Oh, hey, Roldy?
Harold Lee: Yeah?
Kumar Patel: Nice pubes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-04-27)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

All That I Want

Harold & Kumar do it again

As a fan of Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, I really didn't think they could recapture the magic of the first film in the sequel. Sequels are, so often, horrible disappointments. But the World Premiere of Harold & Kumar Escape from Gauntanamo Bay last night as Austin's SXSW Film Festival was simply awesome. The audience loved America's favorite slackers on their next adventure as their trip to Amsterdam goes incredibly wrong.

Whereas the first film challenged racism and stereotyping, this one continued the theme into issues of racial profiling and War on Terror paranoia. These multicultural slackers are becoming American every-men that we can all relate to. While there are times when Harold & Kumar's antics are just plain silly, they are also incredible human characters who are struggling with real challenges around parents, romance, friendship, the law, and race. Harold & Kumar make us laugh while they also challenge our perceptions and expectations of social and political reality.

Cho and Penn were wonderful reprising their original roles. Neal Patrick Harris was back again as a strange variant of himself. Rod Corddry provides a wonderful addition to the cast as the completely paranoid government agent. Overall, the film is perhaps a tad below the original, but a tad below excellent is still a wonderful comic romp that all fans of the original and many new fans should enjoy. Unlike the first film which gained a cult following on DVD, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guatanamo Bay will undoubtedly be a huge hit in the theaters. The audience here in Austin absolutely loved the two lovable anti-heroes. I look forward to many more adventures from Harold and Kumar.