While the 2004 film Harold & Kumar Go to
White Castle charted the pair’s exploits on a hilariously
arduous journey to a White Castle restaurant in New Jersey,
writers/directors
Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (screenwriters of the
original film) use a grander canvas for Harold & Kumar
Escape from Guantanamo Bay.
We pick up with Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) right
where we left them – in their apartment after they’ve
successfully completed their White Castle quest. It’s only
an hour or two later, and the guys are preparing for an epic
adventure to Amsterdam so that Harold can win the heart of
his crush, Maria.
At the airport, Kumar runs into his ex-girlfriend, Vanessa (Danneel
Harris), and he’s shocked to discover she’s about to get
married.
Before they even get on the plane, Kumar threatens to botch
the mission by mixing it up with airport security personnel,
insisting on protesting a random search. Though they do make
it onto the plane, Kumar, as fans of the first film won’t be
surprised or disappointed to find out, eventually succeeds
in getting them into more trouble than they bargained for.
Unable to wait six hours to get to Amsterdam, Kumar takes a
home-made “smokeless bong” into the airplane bathroom.
Turbulence strikes, the bathroom door swings open, the
bong’s mistaken for a bomb, and the guys are mistaken for
terrorists.
The plane is turned around and the guys are detained in
Guantanamo Bay. If you don’t immediately connect the idea of
laughter with the idea of Gitmo, get ready for Hurwitz and
Schlossberg’s treatment of it.
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay offers all the
things audiences loved about Harold & Kumar Go To White
Castle, only bigger and better. Echoing Harold’s escape from
jail in Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, this time both
guys escape detention in Guantanamo Bay. The quests Harold
and Kumar undertake in each film are similarly proportional.
In Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, Harold and Kumar
endured an endless slew of obstacles in search of the
perfect remedy for their case of the munchies. In Harold &
Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, they undertake an even
more obstacle-laden journey, but instead of a snack, they’re
seeking to clear their names of the charges that they’re
terrorists and secure their freedom.
Their plan for accomplishing this involves a journey from
Guantanamo Bay to Miami to Texas, to Vanessa’s wedding to
seek help from her fiancé, a politically connected friend of
Harold’s with ties to one of America’s most powerful and
prominent political families. It’s an epic journey not
easily carried out, and along the way they encounter the Ku
Klux Klan, an inbred Cyclops baby, and – once again – Neil
Patrick Harris.
Hot on their heels is Deputy Chief of Homeland Security Ron
Fox (Rob Corddry), for whom simply hearing Harold and Kumar
are suspected terrorists is enough to convict and imprison
them.
Still, with all of what’s at stake, the irrepressible Kumar
is firm in his commitment to enjoying whatever journey he’s
on. Between this proclivity and his desire to break up the
wedding of Vanessa, who he realizes is the one that got
away, even though he dumped her for fear of things getting
to serious, Kumar once again pushes the limits of Harold’s
friendship, patience and sanity. But whatever doesn’t kill
their friendship will make it stronger.
© New Line Cinema. All
rights reserved
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