Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

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Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Jon Hurwitz Hay Schlossberg
Produced by	Greg Shapiro
Written by	Jon Hurwitz Hayden Schlossberg
Starring	John Cho Kal Penn
Music by	George S. Clinton
Cinematography	Daryn Okada
Editing by	Jeff Freeman
Distributed by	Warner Bros. New Line Cinema[1]
Release date(s)	United States: April 25, 2008 United Kingdom: May 30, 2008 Australia: September 4, 2008
Running time	102 min.
Country	United States Canada
Language	English
Budget	$12 million[1]
Gross revenue	$36 million (USA) $43.32 million (Worldwide)
Preceded by	Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is the 2008 comedy film sequel to the 2004 film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. John Cho and Kal Penn reprise their roles as the eponymous stoner duo, along with Paula Garcés as Harold's love interest, Maria.^[2] Neil Patrick Harris also returns as a satirical version of himself.

New additions to the cast are comedian Jon Reep and former Daily Show correspondents Rob Corddry and Ed Helms.^[2] Other cast members include David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Jack Conley, Roger Bart, Danneel Harris, Eric Winter, Adam Herschman, and Richard Christy.^[3]

The film was released on April 25, 2008 by Warner Bros.; this film was the first New Line Cinema title to be distributed by Warner Bros. since New Line Cinema became a division of Warner Bros.^[4] The film was released on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc on July 29, 2008.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Soundtrack 4 Production 5 Promotion 6 Critical reception 7 Box Office 8 DVD/Blu-Ray release 9 Sequel 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Plot

The plot summary in this article is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the content. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. (March 2009)

Immediately following the events of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Harold Lee and Kumar Patel fly to Amsterdam so Harold can pursue a budding romance with his neighbor. Upon arrival at the airport, Kumar creates trouble while going through security in order to get weed on the plane. Harold and Kumar board the plane, and mid-flight, an old woman sees Kumar lighting his new invention, a smokeless bong. Mistaking it for a bomb, she screams "Terrorist!", causing Kumar to drop the bong, which breaks and emits a visible 'gas,' prompting another passenger to scream "Poison Gas!". Air marshals detain the duo and the plane returns to Washington D.C., where Ron Fox, the neurotic Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, sends them to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, while there they meet a guard named Big Bob and are almost forced to eat his "cock meat sandwich" but are saved by two other terrorist. Eventually, they escape and sneak into Florida with the help of Cuban refugees. They go to see a friend of theirs, Raza, who is hosting a bottomless party and he encourages them to travel to Texas in search of Colton, with hopes that he will be able to help them through his father, who is connected with several high political officials. They borrow Raza's yellow convertible Ford Mustang, which they crash and abandon in Birmingham, Alabama, then after a few days in the woods, they encounter a brother and sister, who have an inbred son with one eye. After leaving that situation, they encounter the Ku Klux Klan where they manage to blend in temporarily, only to be caught by the two members who they were impersonating, who accuse them of being Mexicans.

After escaping the Klan, they get picked up by Neil Patrick Harris. Neil Patrick Harris starts eating hallucinogenic "magic" mushrooms while driving, and they soon come to a blockade where they all realize the FBI is looking for them. Harold and Kumar then cover themselves up with a blanket in the backseat, and Ron Fox walks up to the car. Once he realizes he's looking at Neil Patrick Harris, he tells him how much of a huge fan of his he is. Of course, Neil Patrick Harris at this point sees a unicorn with another version of himself riding outside the other window of his car... he seemingly ignores this and tries to act cool. After Ron finishes up talking to Neil, he drives off, still seeing the unicorn.

On the way to Texas, Neil decides to stop at a whorehouse, where he feels like he needs to get it on with one of the many whores that lie there within. Harold and Kumar reluctantly go inside with him, and the whores line up for business. Neil chooses his and goes into one of the rooms. Kumar chooses two whores and they go off to a separate room. Harold, feeling quite uncomfortable with the situation, sits outside in the lobby, talking to the other whores about the ordeal Kumar got him into, all in the meantime very stressed out, thinking Kumar is having the time of his life. However, flash over to Kumar's room, he's having the same breakdown with the hookers, confessing he's still in love with his ex-girlfriend Vanessa, who is marrying Colton. All of a sudden, the hooker that was with Neil Patrick Harris comes out of their room, screaming... Neil had branded his name on the bottom of her buttocks. As they're all running out, Neil trails behind them, and even though Harold and Kumar are in the car first, Neil Patrick Harris gets shot in the back multiple times with a shotgun by the whorehouse owner, leaving him presumably dead. Harold and Kumar scream and drive off as the owner tries to shoot down their car. While driving, Harold looks through Neil Patrick Harris' stuff to see if there's any contact info for his parents or something, but all they find is the mask of Chris Fehn of Slipknot, a jar full of hair, and a whole bunch of cans of mace.

Finally, the guys get to Colton's house and intend to get their ordeal with the FBI straightened out. Kumar is told to wait in the car but sees Vanessa outside. She trips and falls over, and Kumar leaves to help her. Harold and Colton finally come over as Kumar and Vanessa are just reminiscing about the past. They agree to come with Colton down to an airport hangar where one of his planes are so they can fly out. But when they get there, they realize that Colton had set them up for the FBI to intervene and arrest them, so they could go back to Guantanamo Bay.

While on the plane back to Guantanamo Bay, and heavily guarded, Harold and Kumar make up to each other as friends after they realize they need each other. Harold suddenly gets an idea... reaches into his pocket and pulls out one of the cans of mace that Neil Patrick Harris had in his car. He then sprays the guards and Harold and Kumar plot their escape by putting on the parachutes. Ron Fox however, stops them in their ploy and points a gun at them. His assistant, who has thought the duo was innocent all along, takes his gun and tells them to escape. He slips and falls, and opens the hatch only to fall out, with Harold and Kumar falling out behind them. Even though Harold is the only one with the parachute, the two somehow manage to get to each other and pull the string. Agent Fox proceeds to start shooting at them and cursing them while he falls to his death.

After jumping out of the plane, the pair falls through the ceiling of President George W. Bush's home in Texas, where the President is hiding from Dick Cheney. After bonding over marijuana, the President pardons the pair and sends the Secret Service to help them. Harold and Kumar arrive at the wedding just in time to stop it, revealing Colton's true nature. Enraged, Colton attacks Kumar, but Harold levels him. Vanessa is angry at Kumar for embarrassing her at the wedding, but forgives him when he recites the poem that he had been writing on the day they met, but was too embarrassed to share with her until now. The three leave the wedding, heading to Amsterdam, where Harold finds Maria. The movie ends with everyone enjoying the city and its offerings.

After the end of the credits, we can see Neil Patrick Harris rising from the ground were he was presumably left for dead, hinting he only feigned death.

[edit] Cast

• John Cho as Harold Lee^[5]
• Kal Penn as Kumar Patel^[5]
• Rob Corddry as Ron Fox^[5]
• Paula Garcés as Maria^[5]
• Danneel Harris as Vanessa^[5]
• Eric Winter as Colton^[5]
• David Krumholtz as Goldstein^[5]
• Eddie Kaye Thomas as Rosenberg^[5]
• Roger Bart as Dr. Beecher^[5]
• Neil Patrick Harris as Neil Patrick Harris.^[5] Harris is listed "as Neil Patrick Harris" instead of "Himself" because he did not want audiences to think that his portrayal in the film was how he acted in real life.
• Christopher Meloni as the Grand Wizard of the KKK^[5]
• Richard Christy as Kenny^[5]
• Clyde Kusatsu as Mr. Lee^[5]
• Beverly D'Angelo as Sally^[5]
• Jon Reep as Raymus^[5]
• Ed Helms as Interpreter^[5]
• Adam Herschman as Archie^[5]
• Jack Conley as Deputy Frye^[5]
• Tamara Feldman as Chloe^[5]
• Randal Reeder as Big Bob^[5]
• James Adomian as President George W. Bush^[5]
• Echo Valley as Tits Hemmingway^[5]
• Missi Pyle as Raylene^[5]
• Richard Christy as a Ku Klux Klansman^[5]
• Ava Santana as Tammi

[edit] Soundtrack

Harold and Kumar Soundtrack
Soundtrack by Various Artists
Released	March 23, 2008 (see #Release history)
Label	New Line Records/Def Jam

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay: Original Soundtrack was released on April 15, 2008. It contains 13 songs used in the movie. The track list is as follows:

1. Ooh Wee (Remix) - (Mark Ronson featuring Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife & Saigon)
2. My Dick - (Mickey Avalon)
3. Cappuccino - (The Knux)
4. Check Yo Self - The Message Remix- (Ice Cube)
5. My Stoney Baby - (311)
6. Chinese Baby - (Viva La Union)
7. Nothin' But A Good Time - (Poison)
8. Pussy (Real Good) - (Jacki-O)
9. It's So Hard to Say Goodbye (To Yesterday) - (Boyz II Men)
10. In the Beginning - (K'Naan)
11. Gospel Weed Song - (Bizarre)
12. All That I Want - (Curtis Murphy Syndicate)
13. The Merkin Medley - (George S. Clinton)
14. Whiplash - (Metallica)
15. Something About That Woman - (Lakeside)
16. I Love Ganja - (Rastaman Ivan)
17. Sippin' on Dat - (Victor Rubio)

[edit] Production

Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay cost $12 million to make.^[4] The filming of Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay began in the third week of January 2007 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and finished in March.^[6][7][8] Warner Bros.' spokesman said that this film was originally produced as a direct-to-video film until a decision was made to release it theatrically.^[9]

[edit] Promotion

In October 2007, a "coming soon" poster featuring Neil Patrick Harris began circulating on the Internet.^[10] Showing Harris astride a unicorn, the advertisement poses the question "What would NPH do?".^[11]

[edit] Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 54% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 87 reviews — with the general consensus that the film was not as good as the original. "It may not equal its predecessor, but Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is still good for some laughs -- and food for thought"^[12] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.^[13] Daily Variety declared Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay "Animal House meets Dr. Strangelove" and called it "one of the ballsiest comedies to come out of Hollywood in a long time."^[5] The Guardian (which rated the movie 7 out of 10) noted that despite having a "total nonsense" story, the screening of Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay was "one of the most raucous screenings I've ever attended. Even the opening credits were wildly applauded, and much of the dialog was inaudible over the laughter."^[14]

Not all reviews were so glowing; Richard Roeper of At the Movies lamented that although he enjoyed the "pot-fueled laughs and the sheer energetic lunacy of the original, I was really let down by this uninspired sequel."^[15] The New York Daily News said that "the movie forgets to stay true to their characters or to itself."^[16] Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune wrote that you "find yourself smiling at some of the bits, wincing through many, many others, and ultimately wondering if the pacing would've improved had either H or K developed a terrible cocaine habit."^[17] Amnesty International USA commented by saying that "Guantanamo is no joke." They have encouraged their membership to hand out fliers at movie theater screenings to promote awareness about the treatment of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.^[18]

[edit] Box Office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $14.9 million in 2,510 theaters, in the United States and Canada, averaging $5,939 per theater and ranking #2 at the box office behind Baby Mama.^[19] Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay performed much better at the box office than Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle which grossed $23.9 million worldwide^[20] after opening at #7 in the United States and Canada with $5.4 million.^[21] As of July 17, the international gross stands at $43,327,445.The budget of the film was $12 million.

[edit] DVD/Blu-Ray release

The film was released on DVD and Blu-Ray disc July 29, 2008 featuring a single-disc theatrical edition, an unrated edition, or a 2-disc unrated edition. The unrated edition was featured for Blu-Ray disc. The 2-disc version features a "dude change the movie" feature which lets the viewer access alternate scenes and ending including "Harold & Kumar Go to Amsterdam". This film as of 22 March 2009 had earned $23.4 million in DVD sales.^[22]

[edit] Sequel

Both Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg have announced plans to write and direct a third Harold and Kumar movie, with Greg Shapiro returning as the producer, and Kal Penn and John Cho expected to return in their titular roles. Danneel Harris is rumored to be reprising her role of Vanessa.^[23][24] A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas is set to be released on November 5, 2010.^[25]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Official trailer
• NPH promo site
• Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay at the Internet Movie Database
• Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay at Rotten Tomatoes
• Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay at Metacritic
• Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay at Box Office Mojo
• Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay at Allmovie

v • d • e Harold & Kumar series Films Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle · Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay Actors Kal Penn · John Cho · Neil Patrick Harris

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