Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)

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.

Directors:

Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg

Writers:

Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg,

Stars:

John Cho, Kal Penn, Rob Corddry

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cho	...	Harold
Kal Penn	...	Kumar
Rob Corddry	...	Ron Fox
Jack Conley	...	Deputy Frye
Roger Bart	...	Dr. Beecher
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Neil Patrick Harris
Danneel Ackles	...	Vanessa (as Danneel Harris)
Eric Winter	...	Colton
Paula Garcés	...	Maria (as Paula Garces)
Jon Reep	...	Raymus
Missi Pyle	...	Raylene
Mark Munoz	...	Cyrus
James Adomian	...	George W. Bush
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Sally
Echo Valley	...	Tits Hemingway

Storyline

The morning they return from their White Castle road trip, Harold and Kumar decide to go to Amsterdam because Harold doesn't want to wait ten days to see Maria again. On the plane, Kumar lights up his new bong, the air marshals think it's a bomb, and Harold and Kumar are arrested as terrorists and sent to Guantanamo Bay. Ordered to fellate a guard, they manage to escape, make their way to Florida, and head for Texas to find Kumar's ex-girlfriend's fiancé, the well-connected Colton, and get him to intercede with Washington on their behalf. Kumar still has a thing for Vanessa, the feds are in hot pursuit, and the legal weed of Amsterdam seems a long way away.

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Plot Keywords:

guantanamo bay | texas | bong | escape | florida | 

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Taglines:

What would NPH do?

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Facebook New Line Cinema [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Harold & Kumar 2

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£265,346 (UK) (30 May 2008)

Gross:

$38,087,366 (USA) (11 July 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Kingsgate Films, Mandate Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min 107 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an April 24 2008 Newark Star Ledger interview, the writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg mention that Kumar's poem "The Square Root of Three" (parody of Joyce Kilmer's Trees) 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.

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Goofs

The Guantanamo Bay prison uniforms have black hoods that vanish midway through the escape.

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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 ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The end credits contain a shot of Neil Patrick Harris lifting himself up from the brothel lawn.

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Connections

Followed by Harold & Kumar Go to Amsterdam (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Bon Bon"
Written and Performed by Joe Loco
Courtesy of Fantasy Records
By Arrangement with Concord Music Group, Inc.

User Reviews

Y2K?…Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

If you enjoyed Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and have any reservations about the sequel, fear not. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay may not be quite the same as its predecessor, but it brings enough of the story mechanics back and the stoner humor that made it a cult success. Writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, also serving as directors this time around, have upped the ante like the sequel cliché goes. There is more nudity, (with a bottomless party, how could there not?), a lot more swearing, and just plain old vulgarities every single second. As for the premise's blatant sending up of racial stereotypes and epithets, even those get a shot of adrenaline going from the city streets of Alabama, a KKK kegger, and the bigoted government officials unable to decipher the weird Chinese dialect, called English, spoken by Harold's parents. It definitely isn't pretty, bodily fluids flow freely, but the laughs never cease. When your goal is to bring the funny and there are times in the theatre when one can't hear the next line because of uproarious laughter, you know success is yours.

The beauty of this film is the amount of fun you know these guys are having. To get all the principals back for a second go round of a film that did no bank at the box office is quite the feat. Sure DVD sales and internet buzz was huge for the original, but did anyone ever think the boys would actually get to Amsterdam on the big screen? I know I didn't have that much faith. People could badmouth this effort very easily for many reasons, most obvious is the fact that it is pretty much the exact same film as the first. Yet, there were very few instances where I wasn't laughing let alone smiling at the proceedings. When else can you see a nod to the classics like The Goonies done so well? My biggest concern going in was with the war on terrorism satire that the trailers tried so hard to get across. When you put in an actor to play someone like George W. Bush, it can backfire and go completely awry. Surprisingly, though, that scene, amongst others, is actually pretty well done. The ineptitude of the American government is portrayed often—and actor Rob Corddry is the worst part of the film spearheading that aspect; I just don't like his schtick—yet there is always someone there to play the other side (Roger Bart) and show that while they know there are mistakes, they aren't a bunch of buffoons going around willy-nilly. If nothing else this film should be credited for finally having the guts to poke fun at the tragedy of 9-11. It's been so long and I think that humor is necessary for any sort of healing process. To have the fortitude to do the airplane scene with Kumar laughing in his Taliban garb motioning a crashing airport is not something to tread with lightly. Hurwitz and Schlossberg decided to go pedal to the metal with this film and they never make a compromise, kudos to them for that.

The film begins right where the first left off and everyone is still in the same frame of mind. To add a little spice to the mix, we do get introduced to a new character, Vanessa, an old flame of Kumar's. Being that she is about to marry an aspiring politician, the inclusion not only plays into the need of a love interest, (Maria is still in Amsterdam, and of course we all know the boys don't make it off the plane to see her), but also into the ability to bring the government in through his connections. Being on the cusp of even having the President attend his wedding, who better to go to for help in absolving their terrorist accusations? Vanessa is well played by the attractive Danneel Harris in a role that doesn't get much screen time. She is, however, involved in probably my favorite scene of the film—a flashback on how she meets Kumar and shows him the world of narcotics. It is a fantastic sequence helping to align his brains with the lifestyle he has begun to live in…and there is a brilliant cameo by Harold that brought the house down.

Of course the movie would be nothing without John Cho and Kal Penn, the titular characters respectively. Their rapport is fully intact and the shenanigans they get into are the impetus of the story. It's a shame that Cho is in practically nothing and Penn has been relegated to roles without lines (Superman Returns) and television ("24" and "House") because they could do so much better (as evidenced with The Namesake). This is their film and they do not disappoint, right until the end credits. There are a lot of cameos here as well, mostly from people that we saw in the original. Playing themselves in either stereotypical ways or as the butt of a racial joke, it's good to see them have a sense of humor. If only everyone in real life could have that attitude they wouldn't be cultivating racism by the sheer fact they accuse everyone of it. While that is probably another discussion for another time, at least this broad comedy has enough cultural value to realize it and put it into the minds of college kids for whom the film targets.

Oh, and did I mention Neil Patrick Harris? No? Well that must be because he is so brilliant words can't even describe. What a conclusion to his arc, just fantastic.